Celery Root Remoulade

I find that I often prefer the idea of retro foods much more than the actual foods themselves. This vintage salad is a mustardy crisp exception. Celery Root Remoulade is a traditional raw bistro salad, well loved in French cuisine. Just leave it to the French to transform a hairy, knobby, alien-like root vegetable into a delicate salad. If you've never cooked with celery root before, don’t let external appearances fool you, while this root crop may look like a deformed, sprouted potato, celery root adds a nutty, nuanced celery-like flavor to raw, salads, soups and is fantastic in mashed in potatoes. We serve Celery Root Remoulade as a pungent fall coleslaw and find it pairs particularly well with meat and seafood dishes. 

Yield: Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients:

• 2 large celery roots
• 1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoons whole grain mustard
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (homemade or store bought)
• 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice (divided)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon capers (optional)
• 1 tablespoon gherkins, finely chopped (optional)

Steps:

1. Peel the celery roots with a knife to remove the tough outer skin.  On a mandolin or box grater, slice the celery root into thin matchstick or grated slices.  Place in a large bowl and toss immediately with 2 tablespoons lemon juice to prevent discoloration.
2. To make the remoulade dressing, whisk together the mustards, mayonnaise, tarragon, parsley, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, salt and pepper until mixture is smooth, the mixture will be quite thick. If you would like your remoulade to be thinner, add some buttermilk to loosen it up.
3. Drizzle the remoulade over the celery root slices while folding the mixture together until you achieve a good balance of vegetable to dressing. You might not use all the remoulade dressing. Serve immediately.

Notes:

• If you make homemade mayonnaise, do try it here, it tastes wonderful!
• I find that this salad does not keep well overnight and tends to get an unpleasant soggy texture, so use within one day.