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Monday 13 January 2014

For The Love Of Celery Root

I have no idea why North Americans ignore this amazing vegetable.  Celery root, or celeriac, smells great, tastes delicious, is chock full of fibre, minerals and vitamins and perfect for restricted diets! In fact, it smells so good that I'm pretty sure they talk about me at my grocery store as, "The weird lady who sniffs the ugly root vegetable."  I love it!

It's a mainstay in European cooking, grated into salads, enhancing gratins, soups and stews and to give potato dishes a dash of celery flavour.

Maybe, it scares people off because of it's appearance. ~


French chefs aren't afraid of it and you shouldn't be either.  Once you cut 'er open, she looks like this. ~


This one was a little on the large side and shouldn't have that soft spot.  Look for ones that are no bigger than a baseball to avoid that.

Here's the deal.  Outside of all the health benefits, which you can read about here, celery root is a great way to cut back on calories.  You can use it any way you would use potatoes and, at 45 calories per cup, is 1/3 the amount of calories you would normally get in potatoes.  It's an ideal substitution for dieters and diabetics.

Here's a simple way to get started incorporating it into your diet. I've cut the thick outer skin off, leaving only the inner white part, and cut that into big chunks.  Put those in a pot with potatoes and cook as you normally would.  Celery Root cooks at about the same rate as potatoes and there is no reason to cook it separately.

Mash as you normally would.  I only added a bit of butter.  The celery root retains a bit more water than potatoes and no liquid was required. ~


It looks like mashed potatoes.  It tastes like mashed potatoes, with a bit of a celery zing.  The texture is the same as mashed potatoes.  You just cut the calories on a nice big serving of mashed potatoes by two thirds!  Wait a minute.  That was faulty math.  One half has the usual potato calories and the other half has 1/3 the calories.  My brain hurts so you do the math! ~


You can sneak this one right by kids that don't like vegetables, too!

I think it may lose some of the dieting value when you put this much butter on it. ~


I'm absolutely certain Weight Watchers would frown on the piece of Cajun blackened loin pork I had with it. ~


But, it sure was good!

So, stop discriminating against ugly vegetables and invite celery root into your kitchen!

I'm sharing this with:  Wildly Original Link PartyCreate It ThursdayShare You Cup Thursday

21 comments:

  1. Just fascinating. I have never been introduced to this veggie! I would love to give this a try. Thanks for the info.
    Linda

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  2. I've seen it on cooking shows is it actually the root of the celery plant? We how celery if it is I'm think I need to watch what gets chucked into the on post and make sure we try it.

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    1. Celeriac is a member of the celery family, but a different strain that is grown for the large root bulb. It grows best in warm climates and is harvested in the winter months. The taste is very mild raw and closest to celery seed in taste when cooked.

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  3. Looking forward to trying this one out! Thanks for the info Maureen! xo wendy

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  4. I'm gonna get me some. I'm a big fan of turnip, too and love that with mashed potatoes. Thanks Maureen.

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  5. Oooh, I'm a huge celeriac fan as well. We often have it in a creamy soup version (minus any actual cream) or in a roasted root vegetable medley. I will definitely try it this way as well. Yum.

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  6. Well THAT's interesting! I've never even looked at or considered celery root at all. Now I will keep an eye out for it.. That blackened pork loin doesn't look too shabby either!

    Cindy

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  7. I am all for eating good, especially since I gained some weight over Christmas. I love celery, and would like to try this in soup ... maybe even eat it raw. Will check to see if our store has it.
    Blessings to you Maureen,
    Audrey Z. @ Timeless Treasures

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  8. does it taste like turnips? or the earth?

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  9. I have had this in a salad and loved it but I will admit I have never bought it. Hmmm.... time to give it a try!

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  10. Wow, I don't think I've ever noticed celery root in the grocery store before. What an interesting post Maureen. Thanks for introducing us to this vegetable. Your dinner looks really yummy.

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  11. Okay..you totally busted me as an ugly vegetable discriminator! That is just one ugly vegetable, but...I'm willing to change my evil ways. Can I bake it like a potato? I'm lazy!!

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  12. It is used a lot over here, though I've never actually tried it. I love the taste of celery, and potatoes are my favourite, so I really need to give this a try.

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  13. We do not have celery root in any of our local grocery stores but I have had it before. We could get it with about a 100 mile drive South to a larger area. There IS a new grocery store on the West side of our city- I should probably check there. It's a bigger store. I don't think I could eat it without the potatoes to flatten out the taste a bit. It sure is ugly!!!!! lol xo Diana

    ps-You are still a No Reply when you leave a comment but you probably know that---

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  14. Wow does that look good. I have never heard of it and I don't think I have ever seen it in the store? Sound great, but that porkchop....perfections!

    Carol

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  15. My goodness, you are quite the chef. I wanna come over for dinner! I am not sure I've ever seen celery root at the grocery store but now I'll be on the lookout. I'm intrigued.

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  16. Very interesting, didn't know much about celery root and they are uuuugggllly but to put them in mashed potatoes is interesting and looks delicious. Thanks.

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  17. Thanks for visiting me today, Maureen, and commenting. Just wanted you to know that you are a No Reply when you leave a message again. xoDiana

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  18. It looks like a gigantic piece of ginger! Or a brain. I'm not sure which. I don't think I've ever seen this before. I'm not a big fan of celery because of the texture. But it looks like celery root is completely different. But OMG that pork loin....YUMMMM! I'll have to try your ugly root. If I can find one...

    -andi

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  19. This is so very interesting Maureen. I had never heard of this before. I bet that zing of celery flavor is delicious! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  20. Yummy!! My Mum taught me the joys of celery root!

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