Vegan Celery Root Mashed Potatoes

If you’re a regular reader of The Hungry Hutch, then I’m sure you have a lot of questions based on the title alone of this post. The first one I’ll address is “What is a celery root?” As you’ve probably deduced, it’s the root of a celery plant. It’s relatively neutral in taste with only a slight celery flavor, which makes it a great supplement or replacement for potatoes. Celery root is also known as celery knob or celeriac, depending on who you’re talking to.

The picture above is what you’ll find if you’re ever looking for it in your local grocery store. It’s somewhere between the size of a large grapefruit and a small cantaloupe. I’ll admit that it may not be the nicest looking piece of produce, but I wouldn’t let that scare you. (Personally, I actually find it rather beautiful with all of its nooks and crannies.) To cook with it, simply peel away the entire outer layer with a sharp knife and do with it what you will.

Another aspect you likely found puzzling in the title was that this recipe is vegan. Yes, I have made a vegan recipe. So not only is this a healthier version of mashed potatoes because of the addition of the celeriac, but there’s also no milk, cream, butter, cheese, or even bacon! (So maybe you don’t need cheese or bacon to make traditional mashed potatoes, but those additions never hurt.) I kept a couple of Idaho potatoes in this recipe to keep the consistency closer to the original. The celeriac is wet enough so that you don’t really need any milk or cream, and the olive oil I include adds moisture along with some fat and flavor usually provided by butter.

Ingredients:

• 1 celery root, diced
• 4 small or 2 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more to taste
• Kosher salt
• Chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Procedure:

1. Put the celery root and potatoes in a saucepan. Cover with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer until tender, about 20 minutes depending on the size of the dice.
2. Drain the water from the celery root and potatoes. Add the olive oil and use a potato masher until you reach your desired chunkiness level. Season with salt and add more olive oil as desired.
3. Transfer to a bowl, drizzle a little extra olive oil on top, and sprinkle with some parsley.

To be honest, I didn’t really miss any of the dairy when I made these vegan celery root mashed potatoes. I served them as a side dish for roasted chicken thighs with chimichurri sauce. Quite tasty, if I do say so myself.