Knobbly & Ugly - I adore celeriac!

Gently Roasted Celeriac Wedges with Mustard and Olive Tapenade Dressing

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I know there are people who don’t like celery root. Knobbly and ugly looking but when cooked its aromas and subtle flesh are a delicacy in my opinion. I adore it in every form. The two classic Istanbul dishes, one braised in olive oil with the addition of quince and orange juice, then eaten at room temperature and the other being cooked with some potatoes, carrots and pearl onions, with or without meat, thickened at the last minute with the classic creamy egg yolk-lemon liason and served steeping hot with its aromas wafting around, it is one of the perfect winter dishes of my childhood.

The non-Turkish versions of baked, fried into chips, or raw as a grated salad with yogurt or mayonnaise or in coleslaw they all are delicious. But here is a new version of a splendid new salad which I don’t think I’ve come across before. A delicately roasted celery root salad transformed into something extraordinary with its extraordinary dressing.

The idea struck while I was putting a menu for friends coming in for a get-together. I already had a charcuterie and cheese board planned with homemade pickles, sourdough bread, and some good Italian butter. I already thought of adding a leafy salad with buttery lettuce to the table, but I was so overcome with the flavour of celery root popped into my palate—gently cooked in olive oil, served lukewarm, and completed with a mustardy olive-tapenade dressing. The flavour felt so vivid, as if I’ve just eaten it and still had its taste lingering in my mouth.

Naturally, I decided on it as the second salad.