Celery Root Purée

Celery Root, or Celeriac, is a gnarly hairball root vegetable with a potato-like texture.

I’ve eaten celery root purée before, but I had no idea the vegetable looked like this:

And I had absolutely no idea how to cook it.

I read a few recipes and learned that people boil the celery root in water, stock, or milk and some recipes sauté the vegetable before boiling.

Sounds easy enough.

So there I stood with my knife in my hand thinking: Now what? Where do I start?

And then it came to me: I’ll start by cutting off the ugly!

From there, I just decided to go for it and see what happens.

The result was a deliciously silky Celery Root Purée.

And this is how I did it:

I peeled the celery root like it was a pineapple.

Cut from the top to the bottom all the way around until all of the skin is removed.

Next, chop the celery root into small cubes:

And sautéed in a tablespoon of butter.

Olive oil or coconut oil will work, too.

Season the celery root with salt and pepper and sauté it until it turns gold in color, about 5-10 minutes.

Pour in some heavy cream:

The amount you use depends on how much celery root you have. Add enough to just cover the celery root.

I’m sure you could also use vegetable/chicken stock, water, half & half, or skim milk if you want to cut back on the calories.

I went the full fat route.

Bring the cream to a simmer and cook until the celery root is soft.

Put the celery root and cream into a blender or food processor and blend.

You might need to do this in two batches depending on the size of your processor.

This is the consistency you are looking for.

A silky purée.

Don’t forget to taste it and season with more salt and pepper, if needed.

It was so full of flavor!

Celery Root doesn’t have a strong celery taste. It has a fresh, clean, and slightly nutty flavor and the heavy cream adds a delicate richness.

And that is all there is to it! Easy, right?!

I put the purée back in the pan to keep warm while I quickly seared some wahoo.

Wahoo can be found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. I cook it exactly like I do tuna: high heat, quick sear on all sides, and rare in the middle.

The Celery Root Purée went very well with the wahoo.

I think it will compliment almost any fish, scallops, and chicken.

Celery Root is an excellent example of why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

The cover is gnarly, knobby, and hairy:

But inside, celery root is a delicious story:

With endless possibilities.