I have a friend at Whole Foods. I first met her when she worked at J. Crew, but she’s been at Whole Foods for a couple of years now. It’s hard to pinpoint her age because of her slim figure, understated elegance, slight Eastern-European accent and impeccable posture.
I was grocery shopping the other day and I went to my friend’s register to checkout. We smiled at each other and said hello as we usually do. She saw the celeriac (or celery root) in my cart and asked what I was planning. I hadn’t settled on a preparation, but I was leaning towards soup. She told me that her mother used to shred it raw with a little apple or carrot and sometimes she would dress it with a little sour cream. Her mother used to call it the “salad of beauty” because of the nutrients in the salad. Gosh, I love stories like that.
I realized that I had just been given solid gold advice and I listened. I stopped by the farmers market on my way home and picked up beautiful apples and carrots. I wanted a light, fall-appropriate dressing and a maple vinaigrette came to mind on my drive home. I used the shredding disk on my food processor for the first time. Bits of creamy white and orange shreds lined the bowl in a swooping pattern. I shook the dressing in a jar until it came together. I tossed it all in a large bowl and hoped it would taste as great as it smelled. It did.
I love that this salad is healthy, vegan and naturally sweetened. The carrot, apple and maple syrup in the vinaigrette give it a natural sweetness that reminds me a bit of coleslaw, but better. A salad that everyone can enjoy. If it indeed helps make a person beautiful from the inside out, all the more reason to enjoy it.
Celeriac and apples are a wonderful combination, and I can’t wait to give this a try. Great story, too!
Jess – Thanks! I love how crunchy and fresh it is together!
I had a salad like this on sunday but used cabbage instead of celeriac. I’ll have to buy some since I can’t remember if I’ve ever had any before or not.
Jeannette – Ooo..you’ll love it! Cabbage sounds great, too!
Okay, I need to get over my irrational fear of the food processor disk so I can make this salad. It’s a beaute!
Noelle – Ha! I was a bit scared, too! It wasn’t as smooth as the commercial or on America’s Test Kitchen makes it seem, but I got it done 🙂
I just love reading your stories!
Nancy – Aw, thanks!
I have never had celery root…this sounds great and crunchy! I love that the vinaigrette has maple!
Cindy – Oh, it’s so good! I like it so much better than regular celery! It’s nice and crunchy raw, but smooth and creamy in soups and purées.
I was at a lady’s luncheon at a top hotel and they served a celeriac salad with dried currants, walnuts and granny smith apples and it was amazing. The only problem was, I couldn’t figure out exactly was was in the very light dressing. So thank you for the maple dijon vinaigrette idea-that’s a great start to reinventing the salad that was a true sensory experience!!
Liz – That salad sounds fantastic! I can see how adding the currants and walnuts would add nice texture to the salad. Glad I could help!