All About the Veg! is a biweekly recipe column where Best of Vegan contributor Seiran Sinjari breaks down one amazing plant at a time. In today’s column, she talks about celeriac (aka celery root), a truly versatile plant that can be enjoyed in many forms. Her recipe for baked & grilled celeriac with tamarind gravy and roasted garlic butter is easy to make, yet really sophisticated!
It feels like grill season is just around the corner so why don’t start indoors with amazing seasonal produce? All you need is a grill pan to get those nice sear marks, if you don’t have one, a regular pan works just fine too!
But let’s talk a little about what we’re grilling (and baking too) first. Celeriac is actually the root of celery. In Swedish, we simply refer to it as ‘root celery’. You can prepare it like most other root vegetables. It has a mild celery flavor, it’s slightly sweet, and works great for anything from fries to stews and mash. It can also be eaten raw, thinly sliced in salads for example.
Here in Scandinavia we use celeriac a lot during its long season and celeriac steaks are common vegetarian or vegan options at non-vegan restaurants, often served with a little fancy touch. In this week’s recipe, I’ll show you how easy it is to make them at home. You can use the same method and season any way you prefer too.
I’m serving the grilled celeriac with a simple sour tamarind gravy to contrast the sweetness of the celeriac and the roasted garlic butter. But you could also serve it with a more traditional gravy or only the garlic butter. Whatever you prefer is the best way!
Ingredients
For Baking:
- 1 big whole celeriac scrubbed & roots trimmed
- 1-2 tsp flaky sea salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For Grilling:
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ½ - 1 tsp freshly ground coriander seeds
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ⅓ tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp brown sugar
- salt & pepper to taste
For Tamarind Gravy:
- 2 tbsp dark tamarind paste more or less to taste
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 150 ml water
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp sugar more to taste
- salt to taste if needed, the soy sauce is already salty
- pepper to taste
- 2 tsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water divided
For Roasted Garlic Butter:
- 100 g vegan butter room temperature
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 small bunch coriander finely chopped (you can also use parsley instead)
- ½ tsp freshly ground coriander seeds
- 1 tsp olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
Optional:
- 2-3 tbsp toasted pine nuts
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 200ºC / 400ºF.
- Place celeriac on an oven dish and coat with olive oil, then rub in the salt. Cut off the top of the garlic head (for the roasted garlic butter) and drizzle cut side with 1 tsp olive oil, season with a pinch of salt. Wrap it in some aluminum foil. Place the celeriac and garlic on the middle rack of the oven, remove the garlic after 30-40 minutes (until soft) and bake celeriac for 2 hours or until tender all the way through. Check on it after 1.5 hours.
- Mix all ingredients for grilling in a small bowl and set to the side.
- Let garlic cool slightly then squeeze out the garlic cloves and mix with all ingredients for the butter and set to the side.
- Prepare the tamarind gravy by adding water, tamarind paste, soy sauce, and all seasoning to a pan over medium heat. Whisk until combined and let simmer over medium-low heat for a couple of minutes. Mix 1 tsp cornstarch with 1 tbsp water, add to the tamarind, and mix well until thickened. Add another 1 tsp cornstarch with 1 tbsp water if needed if you want it thicker.
- Let celeriac cool slightly so it’s safe to handle, then slice into thick “steaks”, brush all sides with the oil and add to a hot grill pan over high heat. You can use a regular pan too if you don’t have a grill pan. Grill until both sides have nice grill marks, you can press them against the pan as they are already cooked through and we just want to create a nice surface.
- Reheat gravy if needed and plate the celeriac with some of the tamarind gravy (start with a little as you don’t want it to overpower the dish), garlic butter, and pine nuts (if using). Optional: garnish with some fresh coriander & freshly cracked black pepper.
Notes
Recipe, text, and photography by Seiran Sinjari.
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