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.