Celeriac Hash Browns- A low-carb delight

Do you like eating Celeriac?

I love the nutty British celeriac that you get abundantly in winter.

To the uninitiated, celeriac does look a bit scary with its knobbly root appearance, one would wonder what to cook with it- except in a soup perhaps?

The carb conscious might also steer clear of it thinking that it’s a root- of course its loaded with carbs- nutritious or not.

So here’s a lowdown on the Celeriac.

Like the name suggests, it is a root of the celery plant- called the turnip celery.

Did you know that it can be eaten both raw and cooked– its mild and delicate flavours are absolutely irresistible.

One cup of this cooked has only 42 calories , no fat and 2 grams of fiber.

It is very low in Cholesterol,  a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin B6, Magnesium and Manganese, and a very good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Phosphorus and Potassium.

So let put that in perspective and compare it to the humble spud, the potato that we so love.

Celeriac(100 gms)               Potato ( 100gms)

Calories            42                                        87

Carbs                   6                                       20

Fiber                    5%                                       7%

So you notice that it has a third of the carbs of the potato, so if you are looking for a low carb diet- this vegetable is the one for you.

I made the swap last night.

For dinner, I decided to substitute celeriac in place of potato in the all but unavoidable, sin laded hash brown that I love so much, but try and avoid because of the huge amount of calories!

I gave it a bit of an Indian twist by adding a bit of cumin into the mixture- just for a contrast of taste to the nutty celeriac. And I am so glad I did,  because it took the Celeriac hash browns tasted really special.

Even my critical little fellow who although ever-hungry and is miraculously full at the sight of strange food, polished it off his plate. Not a crumb left.

So that’s us. We loved it.

I am sure it will make an appearance very often in our menu for health and taste as well.

You should give it a go too.

Let me know if you like it!

Ingredients

• Celeriac- 1
• Salt- to taste
• Pepper- to taste
• Cumin ( Jeera)- 1 tsp
• Oil- 2 to 3 tsp

Method

I used my lovely Cast Iron skillet from Judge Cookware. You could also use a nonstick pan, but I find that the high heat taking capacity of the cast iron gives the hash brown its perfect crunch and bite. It is so worth investing in one.

Put your cast iron pan on the gas to heat while you start prepping.

Peel and grate celeriac. I just used my regular peeler and box grater for this job but you could also use your food processor. Celeriac is much easier to peel and grate than it looks. Now put everything into a large bowl. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Add in the cumin.

Mix well and leave aside for 2-3 minutes for the salt to do its work and extract some water from the celeriac. This recipe does not use anything for binding, so this step is quite necessary. If you like, you could add a teaspoonful or two of All purpose flour, to help with binding, but it is not really necessary at all.

Pour 2 teaspoons of oil onto the pan to grease it. Let it get hot and then pour all the grated celeriac onto the pan. Now I chose to make one large rosti ( Swiss hash brown)  but you might find it hard to turn over or cook, so you could try making smaller ones.

Pat the mixture down with the help of a spatula to help shape it and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes till the sides start turning brown.

The easiest way to flip it is to overturn it into a plate and then pop it back on. That’s what I always do.. just keeps everything together. Cook for another 10 minutes, till the underside is done and then serve !

Get your own Cast Iron pan at Harts of Stur.

I was sent this pan for review purpose, but the views expressed herein are entirely my own.