After walking by CELERIAC, aka celery root, for years at the supermarket, I finally bought one. I had no idea what the gnarly looking root would taste like. I like celery so how bad could it be. That is, if it was even related to celery. I didn’t know. Turns out, it is. A distant cousin, cultivated for it’s big ugly root. The flavour is mild. The texture is crunchy. A perfect vegetable for a winter slaw. I used dried montmorency cherries for tartness, unsalted sunflower seeds for depth, fresh green chillies for heat and poppy seeds and quinoa for extra crunch. If you like a slaw sans mayo, give this one a try. It’s delicious.
The weekend was long. Dad’s finding his progress, agonizingly, slow. For me, each new accomplishment, every extra moment of progress is spectacular. All my life, Dad has tried to temper my impatience with the adage “one step at a time”. The power of that phrase is so clear to me now. Funny how it goes.
CRUNCHY WINTER SLAW
SERVES 4
¼ cup red quinoa
½ cup water
3 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons palm sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 shallot, peeled and sliced very thinly
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon walnut oil
1 head celeriac
¼ cup dried tart cherries
¼ cup unsalted sunflower seeds
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 green chilli, seeded and sliced thinly on an angle
Small handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped
THE STEPS:
- Rinse the quinoa.
- Place quinoa and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
- Once the mixture is boiling reduce heat and simmer for 12 minutes.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
- Place the vinegar, oils, sugar and salt in a medium mixing bowl and whisk to dissolve the sugar.
- Add the onions and quinoa, stir well then set aside to marinate.
- Peel the celeriac then cut it into large slices.
- Using the shredding disc on your food processor, shred celeriac.
- Add the shredded celeriac, dried cherries, sunflower seeds and sliced chillies to the quinoa mixture and toss well.
- Sprinkle with poppy seeds and chopped coriander.
THE LOVE: Work quickly with the celeriac so that it doesn’t turn brown before you get it in the marinade.
Thanks for reading.
photography is mine
