Roasted salads are my new go to meal. The textures soften, the flavours enhance. Warming enough to ward off the chills of winter but with a distinct hint of sunnier times on the way!
This is a hearty one tray wonder meal, packed with flavour and goodness – it takes a little time to prepare but is certainly worth it. I'll be making this again very soon. I had seconds and a tiny thirds.
If you have not tried celeriac before, I highly recommend giving it a try. I intended on trying it for years before finally putting it in my basket yesterday. I'm putting my time at home to good use.
Celeriac is available year round but is at its best from September to April. So buy it now before the season passes.
Celeriac is so often overlooked at the supermarket. It's not the most attractive vegetable. It's knobbly and a bit alien looking. By appearance alone, celeriac looks neither easy to work with nor tasty.
It is actually quite delicious. Celeriac was originally derived from wild celery. It has a subtle, celery-like flavour, with nutty overtones. Low-calorie and mineral-dense (lots of iron, calcium and manganese).
Cooked, it takes on a slight sweetness. Treat it like any root veg. Roast it as you would potatoes. Boil it and mash it with other root vegetables, or serve it on its own. It should take around 20 minutes to cook in boiling water until tender, and 30–40 minutes in a 180°C oven.
Raw, celeriac has fantastic crunch that makes it perfect for salads and slaws. Celeriac remoulade is the classic preparation, a simple salad of celeriac, mayonnaise, mustard and lemon juice. It's usually grated or cut into fine matchsticks when eaten raw,
There are so many other options too: celeriac gratins; celeriac soup; chunks roasted up in your salads or even pureed with your Sunday roast. The list is endless and always delicious. It all adds up to celeriac being an extraordinarily versatile vegetable that's worth adding to your repertoire.
Preparing your Celeriac:
- Choose a firm root that feels heavy for its size. Avoid those that are discoloured.
- Using a sharp knife, top and tail the celeriac, then continue around the celeriac slicing off the rest of the rhino-tough skin. Expect to discard about a quarter of the celeriac by the time you've done this. Don't be too precious about losing a bit of the flesh.
- You can now chop the celeriac into slices, then into rough 1cm cubes. Next time I am going to try a shape closer to matchsticks
- Celeriac discolours quickly so once sliced, immerse the celeriac pieces into a bowl of water with a squeeze of lemon juice or splash of white wine vinegar.
Ingredients:
- 1 small celeriac, prepared as above
- 1 onion, peeled and cut into wedges
- 1 punnet of mushrooms, thickly sliced
- 1 tin of chickpeas or beans, drained and rinsed
- 4 handfuls of kale, tough stalks removed, sliced into ribbons
- a small handful of pinenuts
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the dressing:
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- a big pinch of sea salt
How To:
- Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C fan.
- Whisk together all the dressing ingredients until emulsified and smooth. Tumble the celeriac chunks, onions and chickpeas/beans on to a roasting tray, and pour over half the dressing, turning it all over a few times to make sure everything is well coated.
- Roast for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the celeriac is tender and cooked through.
- Add the sliced kale to the roasting tray, along with the rest of the dressing, and mix well. Sprinkle with the pinenuts. Roast for a further 5 minutes, until the kale is a little wilted. Taking care it doesn’t burn.
- Divide between two bowls, allow to cool slightly and season with salt and pepper to taste.
KEEP IN TOUCH!
If you’ve made this roasted celery root salad I’d love to know how it turned out for you. Post a picture of your meal on Instagram and tag me @PilatesBarreDlk or #VitalityNutritionProg. I share on my stories!
Emma x
