This is not the first time I have published a recipe featuring celery root. I have a lovely soup in Kitchen Matters with spinach, broccoli and celery root. Celery root is a non-starchy vegetable with a light celery flavor. It looks super ugly and intimidating, but once you peel away the outside, the inside is white and easy to cut, much like a potato. Watch my reel on Instagram for a video on how to peel it. It’s easier than it looks. I’m posting this Celery Root Puree this week in anticipation of Easter and Passover since it is light, spring-like and would complement any traditional holiday entree.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- It’s creamy
- Lighter than regular mashed potatoes
- Dairy-free
- So easy!
Celery Puree Ingredients
- Olive oil: Traditional mashed potatoes call for butter, and you can definitely use butter here, but the olive oil is fruity and goes well with the sauteed shallots and garlic too.
- Shallot: so mild and sweet, shallots also tenderize very quickly.
- Garlic: cooking garlic sweetens the harshness and gives a little backbone to this puree.
- Celery root: has a milder flavor than celery and is non-starchy making this puree mineral-rich, but lower in carbohydrates (think flatten that blood sugar curve!)
- Yukon gold potatoes: you know these are my favorite potatoes. They’re buttery and have the perfect starch content for this puree. I take the skin off for a silky smooth puree even though I know I am discarding some nutrition. Feel free to leave it on if you don’t mind a coarser mash.
How to Make Celery Root Puree
- In a large saucepan, combine the olive oil and shallots. Cook over medium-low heat until softened, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until soft, about 1 minute. Add the celery root, potato, water to cover, and salt. Bring to a boil, cover, lower to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat until the celery root is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Scoop out a cup of the cooking liquid and reserve; drain the cooked vegetables. Puree the celery root mixture in a food processor or blender until completely smooth, adding a bit of cooking liquid, if necessary (I added 1 Tbsp). If you want this to be a little richer, you can add a Tablespoon or 2 of unsalted butter to the food processor instead of the cooking liquid. Taste for seasoning and add a little extra salt if needed. Once I added a little truffle salt and that was delicious! Serve right away or return to the saucepan and keep warm until ready to use. I have also reheated it the next day in a saucepan over gentle heat.
Tips for Making Celery Root Puree
- Peel potatoes for a super smooth puree
- Scrub celery root really well before working with it as it tends to have a lot of dirt
- If cutting your vegetables in advance, submerge potatoes and celery root in water to prevent them from oxidizing.
- Save cooking liquid just in case you need to thin out consistency
- Or add a tablespoon or two of unsalted butter to the food processor instead of the cooking liquid for a richer puree
- Garnish with fresh herbs (I used chives) before serving for a beautiful presentation
Substitutions for Celery Root Puree
- Cauliflower – you can check out this recipe for my Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
- Broccoli – this recipe is also delicious for a Puree of Broccoli
- Olive oil – you can swap in a plant butter or regular butter
- Shallots – swap in standard yellow onion, just use an equivalent amount
- Potatoes – you can try a peeled white sweet potato which would be sweeter but probably delicious (just different!)
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- ¼ cup unrefined, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2-3 medium celery roots (aka celeriac), peeled and coarsely chopped into large pieces, about 2 pounds
- 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped into pieces a little smaller than the celery root*
- Water to cover
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt (because the cooking liquid will mostly get discarded, I am using Diamond Crystal kosher salt which is less expensive than sea salt)
- Sea salt if needed
- In a large saucepan, combine the olive oil and shallots. Cook over medium-low heat until softened, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until soft, about 1 minute. Add the celery root, potato, water to cover, and salt. Bring to a boil, cover, lower to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat until the celery root is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Scoop out a cup of the cooking liquid and reserve; drain the cooked vegetables. Puree the celery root mixture in a food processor or blender until completely smooth, adding a bit of cooking liquid, if necessary (I added 1 Tbsp). If you want this to be a little richer, you can add a Tablespoon or 2 of unsalted butter to the food processor instead of the cooking liquid. Taste for seasoning and add a little extra salt if needed. Once I added a little truffle salt and that was delicious! Serve right away or return to the saucepan and keep warm until ready to use. I have also reheated it the next day in a saucepan over gentle heat.
Do not prep the celery root ahead of time unless you are prepared to cover the pieces in cold water to prevent oxidation.
*or swap in cauliflower florets
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