Venus Rising

Food for SoulIssue: Aquarius 08

Add Celeriac to Your Winter Recipes

Watercolor by Philip GaligaIf you are fortunate to have a root cellar, then you know that this is the time of year when you start to notice a dent in the food stored there. Winter is still going strong and you may wonder just how long the canned peaches, stewed tomatoes, bagged potatoes, and strung garlic will last. This all sounds so pioneering and quaint but few of us have ever had a notion of storing vegetables to keep through the winter. However, there are foods that we can preserve and save for exactly this season…the droning months of winter.

The curious and unsung hero of the root cellar is celeriac. Most people would never pass their nose over this root and, if they did, they would likely curl it due to its unsightly look and hairy rootlets. But, given a chance, celeriac is an endearing vegetable that can be your secret ingredient, stirring up curiosity and comment from many winter recipes.

A type of celery cultivated specifically for its root, celeriac is also known as knob celery, celery knob or, simply, celery root. Celeriac is un-uniformly round and has random spindly roots and knobs. It is yellowish in color and has a tough skin often riddled with dirty crevices and hairy protrusions. It vaguely resembles Jabba the Hutt, but underneath its ugly exterior lies the real gem…a perfect ivory flesh and a firm slightly fibrous texture with a mellow celery and parsley flavor. 

In the U.S., celeriac’s appearance raises eyebrows and questions, which is why it is much more common in Europe. In fact, our stalky, watery cousin is seldom seen in France where celeriac is prominent. Celeriac even has its own classic recipe there called celery rémoulade…raw celery root, julienne and softened in lemon juice and water then tossed with a mustard mayonnaise dressing. In this time-honored salad celeriac has a starring role, but more often it has played a supporting part, much like turnips and rutabagas, as part of the vegetable mélange in stews and soups. 

Celeriac is derived from wild celery, known to originate in the Mediterranean. In ancient times (it was even given a nod in Homer’s Odyssey around 850 B.C.) it is thought to have been primarily used for medicinal purposes. Celery derivatives, leaves and seeds, and celery tonics were used to treat ailments such as indigestion, colds, flu, and various forms of arthritis and liver ailments. Today, in some quirky New York City delis you can find a modern version of celery “tonic” called Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray celery soda, allegedly good for upset stomachs. Leave it to the French, however, to usher celery from medicinal plant to cultivated edible in the early 1600s – and to cover it in homemade mayo!