The Magic of Celeriac (Part One of Three): Simple Celeriac Roast

No! This is not some strange mutant space creature.  It’s celeriac (also known as celery root)…a kissing cousin of celery, although botanically, it’s in the carrot family.

Mean girls may sometimes refer to celeriac as the “ugly duckling” , “hobbit of the vegetable world” or the “world’s most unsexy vegetable”. They’ve got it all wrong!

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and when you add up all the benefits, celeriac is one beautiful baby! Celeriac is loaded with vitamins and minerals. Celeriac is healthy eating y’all.

A few health benefits of celeriac include:

• Celeriac is very low in calories. 1 cup of celeriac has just 42 calories.
• Celeriac is a terrific source of vitamin-K. 1 cup provides 34% of the recommended daily intake.
• Also known as celery root, celeriac is an excellent source of some of the essential minerals. These essential minerals include phosphorus, iron, calcium, cooper and manganese.
• Celeriac also has some of the valuable B-complex vitamins such like pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, niacin, riboflavin, and thiamin.
• Fresh celeriac also provides moderate amounts of vitamin C.

Cooked celeriac is a great substitute for any dish in which you would use potatoes.  Only celeriac is better because its lower in calories.

With just a little time and attention celeriac is straight-up delicious!  Come on y’all, give celeriac a little love!

Four..count’em FOUR..simple ingredients!

• Celeriac
• Olive oil
• Sea Salt
• Freshly Ground Pepper

About 2 1/2 hours of slow roasting. Reward: delicious, gorgeously golden roast just perfect for slicing and enjoying it in all its simplicity!

A few ways to use your celeriac roast:

• Roll slices around a spear of steamed asparagus and dip it in hummus.
• Serve slices with some fresh summer vegetables like stewed corn and sliced tomatoes.
• Or, pair it with a salad, like Kickin Sweet Potato Salad or Sassy Summer Chickpea Salad.

Either way, you’ve got a meal fit for a queen!

All sliced up and ready to go!! (Be on the lookout for my recipes for Gourmet Celeriac Reuben and Gourmet Celeriac Banh Mi. Coming soon to this same bat channel and same bat station) Pile it on!

The Magic of Celeriac (Part One of Three): Simple Celeriac Roast

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Four simple ingredients plus about 2 1/2 hours of time equals one delicious and beautifully versatile roast! Perfect sliced and served with veggie sides or salads. Or, use this roast as your base for some awesome gourmet cold cuts.

• Author: Benita Walker Gibbs

Ingredients

• 2 medium celeriac roots
• 1 tsp olive oil
• Sea Salt, to taste
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Prepare Celeriac for roasting: Using a vegetable brush, wash that celeriac like it’s your dog and he just rolled in something that you’d rather not identify.  Rinse and pat dry. Cut off the gnarly looking stalks but leave the celeriac unpeeled. (The unpeeled skin makes for a beautiful roast.) Rub those celeriac babies down in the olive oil and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
3. Place celeriac in a baking pan and roast for about 2 1/2 hours or until golden brown on the outside and tender on the inside. I used a toothpick to test mine for doneness. I wanted my celeriac to be firm not mushy, since I planned to slice it to use for sandwiches. (Remember that your actual cooking time will vary depending on your oven and on the size of your celeriac).