This is classic bistro fare, and it is still on menus today. It is a simple salad with a refreshing taste that is quick and easy to make. The flavor of celeriac is like branch celery, but is more complex. The flavor is more intense, but is subtler, like hearing a song clearly but coming from another room. This salad is fine as is, but is easy to dress up. This is one of those recipes where a fixed blade slicer like a Ben-Riner or a mandolin is easiest, but a sturdy grater or even a food processor will work. When peeling celeriac, leave the peeler in the drawer or risk destroying it. Use a knife instead.
INGREDIENTS:
1 recipe Remoulade Dressing (See recipe) 1-2 pounds celery root (1 medium large, 2 smallish) -Optional- Lemon juice if you wish to keep the celeriac whiteMETHOD:
Use a knife to peel the celeriac. If you want to keep the celeriac at it’s whitest, rub with lemon juice as you go.
Shred the celeriac to thin matchstick size using a Ben-Riner (use the middle comb), mandolin, or the large hole of a box grater or food processor disk. If using a processor, push down firmly to get thicker shreds.
Put the celeriac into a non-reactive bowl and toss with enough dressing to coat lightly. The salad is ready to eat, but tastes better if allowed a little time for the dressing to marry with the celeriac.
Chef’s Notes: This salad is easy to play with. Try adding carrots in, adding sprouts, or sunflower seeds which go quite well. Adding too many other elements will overwhelm the simple beauty of this dish, though. If you have flat leaf parsley, you could chop 2 tablespoons up and fold it into the salad as the flavor will fit right in.
Serves: 4
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
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