Grilled Marinated Celeriac Spears
It looks like an old softball that's been rolled in mud and twigs and abandoned in the garage for a couple of years. Which is, I guess, why the supermarket checkers always seem to convey a heavy overtone of "are you nuts?" when they hold up the celeriac and ask what the hell it is.
In my book, it's an endlessly interesting root vegetable, combining the taste and healthiness of celery with the consistency and versatility of potato. I boil it in chunks and mash it with potatoes, blanch it in spears and add it to salad, make a quick remoulade with it, or put it in the food processor with some broth and maybe some other veggies to make soup. This was the first time, however, I'd tried grilling celeriac.
My friend Joe was planning to grill asparagus and corn for an early season cookout and asked me if I wanted to contribute another vegetable to the table -- and since I had a little mudball in my refrigerator this plate of French-fry lookalikes was the result. They were quite a hit alongside Joe's perfect burgers -- a tasty change of pace from the traditional backyard grill fare.
Grilled Marinated Celeriac
1 celeriac bulb
2 T olive oil
3 T lemon juice
3 T minced herbs
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp hot sauce
coarse salt to taste
Peel the celeriac (best done with a paring knife rather than a vegetable peeler) and cut in 3/8" x 3/8" spears. Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, herbs, garlic and hot sauce and marinate the spears for an hour to 8 hours.
Remove the spears from the marinade (reserving marinade) and grill slowly on a medium hot fire, turning occasionally, until the spears lose their crunch and start to char on the edges. Return the spears to the marinade and toss briefly, to coat. Scatter with salt to taste and serve immediately.
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Great idea! I'm always looking for new things to do with celeriac, other than making a slaw marinated with mustard a la Julia Child.
Posted by: Lydia | May 04, 2007 at 08:09 AM
this sounds very interesting and i would like to see what it looks like but the picture isn't showing. :(
Posted by: matt | May 04, 2007 at 12:38 PM
Great idea!
Posted by: Kevin | May 06, 2007 at 12:38 PM
Great, gonna try it at tomorrows lunch.
I suggest spicy celeriac pure with chile picante, mix great.
Posted by: Merken | May 07, 2007 at 12:49 AM
I love celeriac, I mostly use it for purees. I will give this a try.
Posted by: Sara | May 14, 2007 at 01:50 PM
Mmmmm... I just recently bought a celeriac... err... bulb(?) and have been looking for an interesting way to use it. Having turkey burgers tonight and this french fry substitute looks like it will do the trick. :) Thanks for the recipe.
Posted by: Abigail | February 06, 2010 at 05:16 PM