2.01.2008

oven-roasted celeriac fries!

I had never had celeriac (celery root, or, my favorite: the rastafarian turnip), so when I saw it available organically grown at Whole Foods, I decided to take my chances! Most recipes call for it to be boiled in soups or stews, and often pureed, but I wanted my celeriac to be naked - I wanted to see what it tastes like by itself. So after peeling it (which was a rouch job) and cutting it,
I sprinkled a little bit of curry powder and olive oil on it and roasted it in a 350 oven for about 40 minutes.

It only slightly tastes like celery. I kinda thought it was turnippy, but we all know how obsessed I am with turnips. It could've roasted longer (or at a higher temperature? I'm all for really hot ovens), but it was tender enough. Yay for celeriac wedges!

And what is that mysterious sauce with which I ate them, you ask? a gift from my mother:
Nomato Tomato-free ketchup!

Nomato is night-shade free, gluten-free, mostly organic, and pretty tasty. Its main ingredients are Carrots, beets, and onions. (There are more ingredients but I don't have the bottle with me as I write this.) You could've easily convinced me it had tomato in it, but it resembled ketchup neither in taste nor in texture. It tasted like and had the consistency of a not-spicy, pureed salsa. It was a little odd with the celeriac but I had some with the empanadas from last week's entry and the flavors suited each other perfectly.

Sometime I will make nightshade-free ketchup, just to prove I can do it better than the nomato people. But in the meantime? Nightshade-free french fries and ketchup craving SATISFIED.

9 comments:

ChocolateCoveredVegan said... Best Blogger Tips

I've never had celeriac either! Now you have me intrigued... I'm going to go look for it at WFS. As for the ketchup, I'm glad your mom found you an alternative-- I love ketchup (hehe, when I was little, my dad always said my family should buy stock in Heinz!).

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips

I've never even been able to find celeriac. =( It looks good though.

Nomato? Never heard of it. I'm sure you can come up with something good though! Sometimes fries are all you need, sans the ketchup. I like dipping my fries in plum sauce.

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said... Best Blogger Tips

cool! I'll have to look twice at celeriac now. :o

Rural Vegan said... Best Blogger Tips

Mmmm, celeriac is good stuff. It's in a lot of Eastern European dishes, though mostly stews and hearty dishes like you mentioned. The Nomato looks tasty - glad you found a replacement!

Ruby Red said... Best Blogger Tips

You're joking - you can make fries with celeriac?! You did a great job; they look beautimous! I admire your patience with peeling and cutting the celeriac. You sure won't catch me ever buying it for that reason!

And I never would have thought there would be a tomato-free ketchup on the market, either.

Vegan_Noodle said... Best Blogger Tips

Tomato free ketchup? Cool! And perfect with your celeriac fries. Very unique...

shaun.marie said... Best Blogger Tips

I tried to find away to email you, but I don't think I found one. Maybe we could go to that new raw vegan restaurant, grezzo? Have you been yet? Intriguing.... feel free to email me at spazzatood@yahoo.ca if you think that might be fun!

Ashasarala said... Best Blogger Tips

I've never had celeriac. How do you even pronounce that? I really do want to try some, though. I want to try every kind of veggie and fruit there is!

...Except for, maybe, the almighty durian.

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

Nom, I tried your recipe (with paprika powder) and they were delicious! Grated celeriac is also a tasty ingredient in salads, especially combined with walnuts.