Low fat, taste-disguising celeriac recipies

October 17, 2006 12:34 PM

I've got four heads of celeriac - a veg that I'm not particularly fond of. Instead of wasting them, I'm after low-fat recipes that will use them up and help disguise the taste.
posted by TheDonF to Food & Drink (11 answers total)

I'm just curious, why do you have 4 if you don't like them? CSA?

I make 2 things out of them, although I happen to adore the stuff: hashes and stews. Since you want low-fat I won't suggest adding bacon to cover the taste.

For the hash you could dice it with equal or more amt of potato (one russet, one celeriac), add garlic and rosemary. Cook in a saute pan with olive oil on low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, then mash with a fork.

You can add it to any stew. If you're using beef stock that will cover up the taste, the same with anything creamy.

I would look for any starchy root vegetable recipe (turnip, potato, rutabega, etc.) and replace or add the celeriac.
posted by scazza at 12:54 PM on October 17, 2006

Oh and you have to cut the skin off them thickly. Not sure if you already knew that.
posted by scazza at 12:55 PM on October 17, 2006

cubes cooked in a strong flavored stock (beef, turkey, duck, ...) +/- red wine, mushrooms, ... till all the stock is absorbed mainly taste like what you cooked them with.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 1:10 PM on October 17, 2006

Roasting them with a really strong-flavoured veggie (peppers, especially) should cover up the taste a bit.

My roomate tried this celeriac soup recipe a while back and the celeriac taste wasn't too strong. Substituting yogurt for some of the heavy cream should make it lower in fat.
posted by thisjax at 1:16 PM on October 17, 2006

Response by poster: LOL, I've got 4 because I get an organic box of veg once a week and I've been getting them for a month now. They've been sitting there, not going off, but smelling of celeriac (surprising, huh?).

I've tried cubing the things and roasting them, but they still taste too strong, so the more recipe ideas, the better :)
posted by TheDonF at 1:19 PM on October 17, 2006

I like to boil celeriac and then mash it into mashed potatoes. This doesn't really hide the taste (though I suppose it might if you used a whole hell of a lot of potatoes), but, then, I love celeriac.
posted by Dr. Wu at 3:42 PM on October 17, 2006

Here's a recipe that sounds like a good idea: a tart with butternut squash (to cut the celeroid flavor) and cheddar (to disguise it).

P.S. More bad news, from your source: Celeriac has good keeping properties, and should last 3 to 4 months.... Perhaps the kiddies on your block will be getting tricks rather than treats this year?
posted by rob511 at 3:55 PM on October 17, 2006

Response by poster: robb511: tell me about it - the things have been stinking up my flat good and proper. If I get some really annoying kids, maybe I'll just hurl the celeriac out of the window at them :)

Thanks for the recipie ideas - I'll try some out and, if I remember, report back. Mmmm, butternut squash. Mmm, forbidden bacon (well, some in moderation).
posted by TheDonF at 4:37 PM on October 17, 2006

Then by all means, add some in moderation. A few strips of good bacon cooked into a stew add a hell of a lot of flavor, and I'm sure you'll like slightly-bacon-flavored celeriac more than entirely-celeriac-flavored celeriac.
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:23 PM on October 17, 2006

Response by poster: This is what I cooked up last night in my lovely big Le Creuset casserole:

good glug of olive oil; 3 medium onions cut into big chunks; 6 carrots cut into big chunks; 2 bell peppers in big chunks; 2 large field mushrooms cut up large; 2 heads of celeriac cut into small-ish chunks; 4 smashed-up cloves of garlic; 2 heaped teaspoons of smoked, sweet paprika; 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper; ½ teaspoon each of fennel and cumin seeds; dusting of flour to thicken; ½ bottle red wine; 2 tins of tomatoes; beef stock; fresh rosemary, thyme and bay leaves; a few new potatoes; low-fat creme fraiche.

Sweat the veg (apart from the potatoes), add the garlic then the spices and cook them for a bit. Stir in the flour and cook that for a couple of minutes. Add the wine, tomatoes, beef stock and bring to a simmer. Put shoes on and run down to the garden, trying not to get too wet, to pick herbs. Run back upstairs and bung herbs in the pot. Reduce heat slightly, put lid on and let it cook for a couple of hours (or until Guns Of Navarone and the Hitler documentary have both finished). Remove lid, increase heat, throw in potatoes and cook until you've watched an episode of The Simpsons on DVD. Now season to taste; put a generous portion in your favourite big bowl, spoon on a good dollop of low-fat creme fraiche and eat.

Result: mmm, tasty. The celeriac had a subtle, vaguely sweet taste and was nothing like as intense as I'd had it before.

Next up will be the butternut squash experiment
posted by TheDonF at 1:08 AM on October 22, 2006

Response by poster: Mmmm, live preview shows ½ as the "half" symbol. Live posting doesn't. But that's what it is
posted by TheDonF at 1:10 AM on October 22, 2006