Celeriac & Yukon Gold Mash

There have been many comments over the past week about the appearance of celeriac. Questions of why would you buy and especially eat something so ugly! 

My favorite so far was that it looked like monkey brains. Now I’ve never seen monkey brains so I can’t comment on the accuracy but it did make me feel like I was cooking with something very exotic.

It does beg the question of why should I add this in? Does it add a different nutrient that I can’t get from another vegetable? What is the true benefit?

To this I would say it has a lot of redeeming qualities. For one it has a very low carbohydrate content but has a ton of good nutrients like fiber, vitamin B6, C and K and potassium, phosphorus and manganese.

This comes in handy for those you out there watching your carbohydrate intake. It also comes in handy with recipes like the one listed below. Mashed Celearic and Potato.

Say that you love mash potatoes but not all the carbs. By adding celeriac you can reduce your carb intake but still enjoy mashed potatoes.

For example, in one cup of diced celeriac there are 9.1 grams of carbs compared to 1 cup of yukon gold which has 36.4 grams.  Huge difference! 

After being asked about the appearance the next questions is usually how do you prepare it? 

Basically you peel it. I prefer to use a knife instead of a peeler but either can be used. 

Here is more detailed description:

1. Scrub the root with a potato scrubber under cold water removing any dirt.

2. Cut the top of the root off. Trying to just get the outer skin removed without sacrificing any of the inner root.

3. Then proceed cutting off the skin around the root. Side note: Its a good idea to have either a half of a lemon or a bowl of water mixed with lemon juice around as you do this. If you are not going to use the celeriac immediately its a good idea to rub the root with the lemon as you peel it to keep it from turning brown.

4. Next cut up the celeriac however you like. Matchsticks like we did in last week’s recipe, grated (coming up in next week’s recipe), or cubed like we do in this week’s recipe! 

Speaking of this week’s recipe let’s get to it!

This week is a super yummy Celeriac and Yukon Gold Mash. 

There are two options here because I love options when it comes to cooking. One version is dairy free and the other is full on dairy!

Choose which one works best for you!

Celeriac and Yukon Gold Mash

Ingredients- Dairy Free

•  2 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes
• 1 lb Celeraic 
• 3 Garlic cloves
• 4 TBPS Non dairy butter substitute. I used Miyoko’s which can be found at Trader Joe’s. See picture below.
• 6 TBSP of Almond milk or other milk substitute 

Ingredients – Full on Dairy

• 2 lbs of Yukon Gold Potatoes
• 1 lb Celeriac
• 3 Garlic cloves
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 6 Tbsp of Sour cream

Instructions for both types of recipes:

1. Peel the potatoes and celeriac and cut into 1 inch cubes. Place the potatoes, celeriac and garlic cloves in a pot and cover with water. Water should be about an inch over the vegetables. Add salt.

2. Boil the vegetables until the celeriac is fork tender.

3. Before draining you will need about 6 Tbsp of the water the vegetables were boiled in. I take my glass measuring cup and scoop out enough water before draining.

4. Drain the vegetables.

5. Place back into the pot. Add your non-dairy or dairy options at this time along with the reserved water. Use either a hand mixer (for chunky mash) or a potato ricer for a smoother mash. 

6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Jason and Jack could not tell the difference between the two types of mashes. Both were very good! 

We paired the mash with some yummy beef stew. 

However, this can really go with anything that goes with mashed potatoes.