Mashed Celery Root

Story

Ok, there are some foods that are so distracting in appearance that we immediately run and hide when we see them. The durian is one  (the smell certainly doesn’t help this fruit), squid is another (tentacles never look savory), and of course there is the humble celeriac or celery root:

See?! Not a beauty. I confess it took Alton Brown and Sean’s influence to get me to try it. Which is a shame because it’s so freaking good! And while you might not be able to handle the durian’s pungent odor or the squids slime factor, once you cut off the skin of the celeriac, it’s really a beauty. Think of it as the Beast from the children’s story, “Beauty and the Beast.” True it’s ugly on the outside, but it’s rich and rather attractive on the inside. And it’s healthy and delicious alternative to the humble potato. Why not try it? I promise when you’re done, your finished product will look like this:

Recipe

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: ~10 minutes
• Total Time: ~20 minutes

Tools

• 1 chef’s knife
• 1 medium sized pot
• 1 wooden spoon
• Hand blender (or get your best potato masher ready)

Ingredients

1 lb of celeriac (diced)

1 tbsp of olive oil or butter

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock

1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (chopped)

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Method

1. Heat a medium-size pot over medium heat and add 1 tbsp of olive oil or butter to pan.
2. Once oil is heated, add 1 lb of celeriac to the pot, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally so that the celeriac doesn’t brown.
3. Add 1/2 cup chicken stock to pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
4. Simmer for ~5 minutes, or until the celeriac is tender, then blend celeriac using a hand blender (or a potato masher if you are strong).
5. Add 1 tbsp of chopped fresh thyme leaves and kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
6. Try serving it with a hardy meat dish like my Grilled Maple Lamb Chops.