Fried Celeriac

Celeriac is the root bulb of the celery plant. As you might imagine, it has a bit of celery flavor, but not as strong as the greens stalks.

It has a lot of nutrients and has a lower glycemic index (less carbs) than other root vegetables.

Think of it as a weird-looking, but tasty, healthy potato.

For sure you don't have to deep fry celeriac or any other veggies. You could boil and mash or roast or shred and top on anything or make into a soup.

But, I mean... why not try deep-fried?

They are like healthy deep-fried potatoes, what's not to love?

• 2-3lbs celeriac (or really any root veggie you want to fry)
• ~2/3 cup organic AP or bread flour (we use this flour)
• ~2/3 cup organic corn starch
• 3 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Water
• Copious amounts of a fat to fry in (enough coconut, olive and/or peanut oil to fill your fry pan halfway)
• Optional: ginger, lemon, orange, dried peppers, sesame oil or any other flavor you want to add
Note: We highly recommend organic flours/grains if for no other reason than conventional or 'non-GM' ones are sprayed with pesticides AFTER harvest.

• You need a good thermometer to check oil temp
• Deep, straight-walled skillet, we use a 10" or 12" cast iron
• Slotted spoon or ideally a 'spider' scoop
• Cooling rack and baking sheet - we use a stainless rack that can just be thrown in the dishwasher after
• Filter material or cheesecloth as well as a funnel to strain your oil after for reuse. More below. (Bonus: you can also use the linked filter in your face masks to upgrade their filtration to near N95 level, they work way better than cheesecloth for oil filtering)
• Large cookie sheet or top for your skillet (in case you somehow manage to catch your oil on fire, just cover the fire with the sheet/top to put it out instantly. Never use water or try to move an oil fire.)

1. Peel the celeriac and cut into about 1/3-1/2" wide strips, set aside
2. Heat your skillet and add oil, heat over high heat to a temp of 375-400 degrees before starting frying
3. In a large bowl, add flour, corn starch, sugar and baking powder - whisk
4. Use a Microplane to grate ginger or lemon/orange zest... or add in any other dry accent flavors desired, whisk
5. Add the juice of citrus or sesame oil or other liquid accent flavors
6. Add about 2/3 cup of water and whisk well. It should be a liquid, but... just barely - sticky. If it needs more water, add a bit and recheck. If you added too much water, add more flour or corn starch.
7. Add your celeriac to the mixture and stir around until well coated
8. Setup the half baking sheet with the cooling rack on top of it next to your oil-filled skillet. This is where you'll drain your fries.
9. Using tongs, one at a time, add the celeriac to the hot oil. Don't overcrowd, make sure the oil stays above 350 degrees and scoop out the fries after they are lightly fried, about 2 minutes. You can prob add about 20% of the fries at once, maybe a bit less depending on the size of your pan.
10. Repeat in batches once the oil recovers to 375-400 degrees
11. After all have been lightly fried once, check if you have extra batter. If so, you could dump your fries back into the batter and toss to get all that goodness.
12. Either way, add them back to the oil for their second fry. This time you can fry in larger batches at once, probably 35-50% of your 2-3lb batch. Fry them until golden brown and just how you want them. Then strain and remove back to the cooling rack.
13. Generously salt and top with whatever you'd enjoy

Toppings to consider

• Chipotle, paprika, and lime juice
• Vinegar of some sort
• Saffron or chipotle aioli
• Chevre cheese or Alemar's grass fed cream cheese are fantastic as is avocado/ guacamole