The purple chive blossoms, adding a slightly bitter onion note, should be used sparingly
Nature is full of lovely creations, but celeriac is not one of them.
The ungainly, knobby celery root often ends up treated like a potato with spunk, mashed or creamed or gratineed for a different tuber experience.
Faced with one on our Native Offerings share, I decided to go a different way – to a crunchy, sweet-and-sour salad with a hint of Thai funkiness.
As scary as it looks, you just peel the celeriac like a potato and go about your business. It tastes like you’d expect celery root to taste – the crunch and zip of a celery-flavored radish.
It wasn’t my favorite salad, but it used up something I got in my share to tasty effect, and packed in some vitamins in the meantime. It made me wish I had a luxe chicken or duck dish to contrast its crunchy tartness against.
Celeriac salad
1 cup celeriac, cut into matchsticks
1 cucumber, halved, seeded and sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 medium-size carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 tablespoons sliced chives or green scallion
1 teaspoon chive blossom (optional)
For the marinade:
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon sugar or honey
Stir marinade ingredients together in a cup until well combined. Toss vegetables except scallion or chives in marinade and let rest for at least an hour, tossing two or three times. Before serving, toss with scallions or chives and sprinkle with chive blossom.
