Makes 6-8 servings as a first course.
Despite the name, this vegetable has nothing to do with celery. It may appear as an ugly, knobby beige globe but it is crispy, with a delicate flavor of celery, parsley and a slight nuttiness. It is also full of vitamins and minerals.
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 medium celery roots, about 2 pounds
- 3 tablespoons homemade mayonnaise (recipe follows)
- 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ cup loosely packed flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
PREPARATION:
- Drop celery root into boiling water. Cover and boil for 3 minutes. Drain and cool.
- Peel the root quite thickly to remove all the dark embedded spots (this rough looking vegetable is a bit tricky to peel).
- Cut the celery root into pieces that will fit into the feeding tube of a food processor fitted with the medium grating attachment. Press hard to try to obtain long, even matchsticks.
- Empty into large bowl.
- In a small dish, whisk mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Combine with grated celery root. Add the parsley and season to taste. Before serving adjust the taste and the texture, once again, as the dressing becomes absorbed.
INGREDIENTS FOR MAYONNAISE:
This is a lightly seasoned mayonnaise which makes a good base for other dressings.
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon powdered mustard
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
PREPARING THE MAYONNAISE:
- Combine the olive oil and vegetable oil in measuring cup (the spout of the cup makes it easier to control the slow pouring).
- Place the egg, mustard and salt in a blender. Remove the plastic knob from the cover of the blender. Turn on the blender and after a second, add the vinegar.
- Pour the oil in a very slow stream. As the mixture begins to thicken, add the oil more quickly.
One word of caution: keep the blender running from the beginning of the process to the end, when all the oil has been added. When finished, transfer the mayonnaise to an airtight container and refrigerate.
