Celeriac (and carrot/swede)

[LittleGreyCat]

After a few false starts I have taken to celeriac.
I didn't manage to get celeriac chips (deep fried) to work because they didn't go crisp on the outside and soft in the middle.
Probably too much water in them.

However peeled, diced and boiled then pureed with a stick blender and you get a pleasant substitute for mashed potatoes. Remember plenty of butter.
More to the point, it doesn't seem to affect my BG at all which is amazing.

Given that carrots can be a bit sugary I am also pleasantly surprised that the frozen swede and carrot mash from Iceland also doesn't seem to affect my BG either.

I've just noted that celeriac is a winter vegetable and so may not be in the shops for much longer but fresh (unpeeled) celeriac is about £1.50 a kilo (Waitrose, Sainsbury) and Waitrose do frozen diced celeriac for £1.75 a kilo which must be about the same as peeled celeriac.

This gives me the option of processing fresh celeriac into mash and freezing the portions, or buying ready frozen and making half a kilo of mash as needed.

 

[TeddyTottie]

If you have an air fryer, swede, courgette, aubergine and celeriac ‘fries’ roast up a treat with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and a dash of garlic granules, if that’s your jam. They don’t go crispy, but they catch around the edges and go meltingly soft. I’m sure they would work just as well in a hot oven. Oh, I blast the swede and celeriac in the microwave in a dash of water for about 4 mins first, just so they will cook through in the time it takes them to brown.

 

[Mr_Pot]

I have recently started microwaving celeriac and swede for a few mins after l cut them into chips and before roasting in oil in the oven. I don't know if this is driving off some of the moisture, or pre cooking them a bit but the microwaving seems to improve them.

 

[Bittern]

Celeriac, olive oil, garlic and smoked paprika baked in the oven at about 200C until the edges go dark are good as chip substitutes. They don't go crispy but are tasty.

Mashed with butter and a good cheese Celeriac makes a good mash substitute, best if baked like a topping for cottage pie etc.

 

[MrsA2]

If you have the oven on for something else then whole unpeeled celeriac wrapped in foil and baked until soft is very nice. Can add spices and flavourings.
Can also do it in the microwave (without the foil) but it can catch and burn.

I too keep several portions in the freezer ready for when it's unavailable or expensive..

I can find celeriac "windy"

 

[carty]

If you have the oven on for something else then whole unpeeled celeriac wrapped in foil and baked until soft is very nice. Can add spices and flavourings.
Can also do it in the microwave (without the foil) but it can catch and burn.

I too keep several portions in the freezer ready for when it's unavailable or expensive..

I can find celeriac "windy"

Do you parboil the celeriac before freezing ? When I tried it ,it went mushy
Carol

 

[MrsA2]

Do you parboil the celeriac before freezing ? When I tried it ,it went mushy
Carol

I make the mash cooked then freeze it, but I freeze chips just as they are, then toss in oil and spices before cooking from frozen. OK they aren't very crispy but they do

 

[becca59]

I’m another big celeriac fan. After eating lots of different ways I found I loved the mash. The easiest option for this is definitely to cook then freeze the whole lot in individual portions. I then heat up in the oven. A jolly good ready meal.
@LittleGreyCat yes it is a winter vegetable, but I buy all year round at Morrisons. It must keep well in storage.

 

[carty]

I have not had any problems buying celeriac all year round at most supermarkets
Carol

 

[LittleGreyCat]

I’m another big celeriac fan. After eating lots of different ways I found I loved the mash. The easiest option for this is definitely to cook then freeze the whole lot in individual portions. I then heat up in the oven. A jolly good ready meal.
@LittleGreyCat yes it is a winter vegetable, but I buy all year round at Morrisons. It must keep well in storage.

Reassuring.

My second point was that buying it fresh seems to cost as much as buying it frozen once you factor in all the peeling.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Another occasional celeriac related post.

Big shout out for Waitrose who trim their celeriac of most of the top and roots that you normally pay for, making preparation a lot easier.

I've just chopped and boiled 3 big roots, and pureed most of them.

However as I cut them into segments like chips, I looked at them and wondered.
So far chips made from celeriac haven't worked for me, but these were fully cooked and almost falling apart.
So I am test frying them.
It is taking a long time for them to look cooked; that is, floating on top of the oil.
I assume that this is a measure of how much water they have lost.
{Pause}
Well, not bad in that they are very soft in the middle.
However nowhere like real chips.
I much prefer celeriac mashed.

Going to freeze a lot of small portions of mashed celeriac and see how that goes.

 

[Mr_Pot]

Can I include Butternut Squash in your thread @LittleGreyCat ? After cauliflower it is probably the low carb veg I have most of. It makes a good substitute for roast potatoes just peeled, cubed and put in the tin with the joint. I find roasting for about an hour, until it starts to get a bit burnt in places, gives the best result.

 

[Goonergal]

I don’t know whether this would help with the crispiness of celeriac or other veggie fries, but I screenshotted (if that’s a word) this tip for reference:

Also saw on Twitter that kohlrabi makes good fries:

https://twitter.com/_cooknaked/status/1378057847263612929?s=21

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Can I include Butternut Squash in your thread @LittleGreyCat ?

It's a free country.

Pull up a chair and doubt the cat's parentage.
[Although this may be mainly an American term.]

Made me look it up.
http://bertramchandler.com/liberty.aspx
has some discussion about the origins.

 

[Ledzeptt]

I tried celeriac, but didn’t enjoy the taste (I’m not a fan of celery). However I do regularly make “oven chips” and “roast potatoes” from swede.

I find it will just about mash (easier if starting with frozen, cubed swede), but I rarely bother.

I think the texture is similar to potatoes, but swede tastes sweeter. Carb content is similar to celeriac at around 2.3g per 100g (according to Tescos; some supermarkets list it higher than this).

Additional advantage is that they’re readily available and cheaper than celeriac.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

I tried celeriac, but didn’t enjoy the taste (I’m not a fan of celery). However I do regularly make “oven chips” and “roast potatoes” from swede.

I find it will just about mash (easier if starting with frozen, cubed swede), but I rarely bother.

I think the texture is similar to potatoes, but swede tastes sweeter. Carb content is similar to celeriac at around 2.3g per 100g (according to Tescos; some supermarkets list it higher than this).

Additional advantage is that they’re readily available and cheaper than celeriac.

You can usually buy frozen mashed swede/carrot mix from Iceland and that has been a "go to" vegetable for me because it is filling and low carb.

Last time I looked they had changed from the £1 pack to a larger £2 pack, but didn't have any in stock.
Frustrating, as it is an easy meal.

 

[Mr_Pot]

I finally got around to making celeriac dauphinoise which was easy and is now my favourite way to cook celeriac. I had the leftovers cold for my lunch the next day and that was just as good, possibly better. There a lots of recipes on the web but I used this one with a 1/4 of the quantities....
https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/celeriac-dauphinoise-with-gruyere-recipe

 

[Brunneria]

Tescos are now doing ‘swoodles’.
Swede so finely julienned that they microwave into noodles.
Very nice indeed. Easy to micro, superb for picking up sauces. Not too stringy.
And the pack does 3 good servings.
They’ve become a regular feature Chez B.
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/304384264

 

[KK123]

I tried celeriac, but didn’t enjoy the taste (I’m not a fan of celery). However I do regularly make “oven chips” and “roast potatoes” from swede.

I find it will just about mash (easier if starting with frozen, cubed swede), but I rarely bother.

I think the texture is similar to potatoes, but swede tastes sweeter. Carb content is similar to celeriac at around 2.3g per 100g (according to Tescos; some supermarkets list it higher than this).

Additional advantage is that they’re readily available and cheaper than celeriac.

and easier to peel!!!!!