Celery Root Puree for a Crowd
By Julia Collin DavisonPublished on September 29, 2020
Time
1 hour
Yield
Serves 10 to 12
Ingredients
Before You Begin
When buying celery root, look for those with few roots for easy peeling and minimal waste. Use a chef's knife to peel the celery root: Trim the top and bottom of the root first, and then cut the skin away from the sides. Once it's prepped, you should have between 1¾ and 2 pounds of celery root. While the celery root puree can be made in advance, the herbs should be chopped right before serving.
Instructions
- Working in 2 batches, pulse celery root in food processor until finely chopped, about 20 pulses per batch; transfer to bowl. Pulse potato in processor until finely chopped, about 10 pulses, and add to bowl with celery root. (You should have about 9 cups chopped vegetables.)
- Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in celery root–potato mixture, water, salt, and baking soda. Cover and cook, stirring often (mixture will stick but cleans up easily), until vegetables are very soft and translucent and mixture resembles applesauce, about 30 minutes.
- Uncover and cook, stirring vigorously to further break down vegetables and thicken remaining cooking liquid, about 1 minute. Transfer celery root mixture to clean, dry food processor. Add cream and process until smooth, about 40 seconds. Season with salt to taste. Transfer to bowl, sprinkle with chives, and serve. (Ungarnished puree can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Before serving, microwave puree on medium-high power in covered bowl, stirring often, until hot throughout, 7 to 10 minutes.)
Time
1 hourYield
Serves 10 to 12Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
For celery root puree with a clean, pure flavor, we processed chunks of the peeled root, along with russet potato for body, in the food processor to create tiny pieces that would cook quickly in small amounts of water and butter. To help the vegetables cook even more quickly, we added a small amount of baking soda to the cooking liquid. This created an alkaline cooking environment that sped up their breakdown. Once the vegetables and water had cooked into a thick mush, we returned it to the processor and buzzed it with some heavy cream to form a smooth puree.
Before You Begin
When buying celery root, look for those with few roots for easy peeling and minimal waste. Use a chef's knife to peel the celery root: Trim the top and bottom of the root first, and then cut the skin away from the sides. Once it's prepped, you should have between 1¾ and 2 pounds of celery root. While the celery root puree can be made in advance, the herbs should be chopped right before serving.
Instructions
- Working in 2 batches, pulse celery root in food processor until finely chopped, about 20 pulses per batch; transfer to bowl. Pulse potato in processor until finely chopped, about 10 pulses, and add to bowl with celery root. (You should have about 9 cups chopped vegetables.)
- Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in celery root–potato mixture, water, salt, and baking soda. Cover and cook, stirring often (mixture will stick but cleans up easily), until vegetables are very soft and translucent and mixture resembles applesauce, about 30 minutes.
- Uncover and cook, stirring vigorously to further break down vegetables and thicken remaining cooking liquid, about 1 minute. Transfer celery root mixture to clean, dry food processor. Add cream and process until smooth, about 40 seconds. Season with salt to taste. Transfer to bowl, sprinkle with chives, and serve. (Ungarnished puree can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Before serving, microwave puree on medium-high power in covered bowl, stirring often, until hot throughout, 7 to 10 minutes.)
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