Grilled Celeriac with White Bean Puree

This recipe is in partnership with California Olive Ranch. See below for more details.

One of my marks for a good chef is how they can transform a meat-based dish into a vegetarian meal. When I'm in a group setting and request vegetarian, there are usually two outcomes: the chef used what they were doing anyway or served a completely different meal. While I understand the different meal for some dishes, I've had the occasion of longingly looking at my meat dish and thinking that it could have easily been vegetarian. This grilled celeriac was inspired by a chef that simply shifted the meat dish (fish atop celeriac puree) and turned it into a celeriac steak on top of the puree. I wanted to recreate something similar but with a bean puree for a bit of protein boost.

Grilled Celeriac with White Bean Puree

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This grilled celeriac is light on ingredients but solid on flavor. The grilled steaks are charred then roasted for the perfect fork/knife texture.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings 1x
• Category: Main Course

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Grilled Celeriac

• 1 large celeriac ((celery root))
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
• ⅓ cup breadcrumbs (homemade preferred)
• 2 teaspoons thyme
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

White Bean Puree

• 2 cloves garlic (peeled)
• 1 cup cannellini beans (drained but liquid reserved if using canned)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ⅛ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Peel the celeriac. Carefully cut off ¼” of the bottom to create a level surface. Where the celeriac is the thickest, cut 4, ½” thick slices. Save the remaining celeriac for another peal. Toss the celeriac slices with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
2. Preheat oven to 400˚ F. Heat a grill or oven-safe pan over medium heat. Add the celeriac slices along with the garlic cloves to the pan. Grill on each side until nicely charred, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Let the garlic cook for 3 to 4 minutes, just until golden. Remove the garlic, transfer to the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the celeriac is tender.
3. While the celeriac is cooking, combine the white beans with the grilled garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Puree and slowly add some of the reserved liquid or water to the mixture, just enough to smooth out the puree. 
4. In a food processor or small bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs with fresh thyme and olive oil. Divide the bean puree between two plates and top with the grilled celeriac, breadcrumbs, and an extra drizzle of olive oil. 

Notes

Tips & Tricks: Add a little oil to the grill pan to help the garlic. This is my shortcut when I want roasted garlic but don’t want to wait 45 minutes.

Stock up: get the pantry ingredients you will need: celeriac, olive oil, thyme

Nutrition: get the information.

Explore California Olive Ranch Olive Oil

One of my favorite things to do in January is reset my pantry. It's the perfect time to cycle through old grains, legumes, spices, and oil- all things that can go bad over time! I went on a tour of the olive harvest for California Olive Ranch olive oil and wanted to share the behind the scenes. Quality pantry ingredients are the foundation for a good recipe and I count my California Olive Ranch as one of the most important! You can read about the whole process and see what makes the olive oil so great!

A big bottle of COR's everyday olive oil sits on my counter and is used every day (that's not an exaggeration.) They are such a wonderful California company whose product you know is fresh. It's amazing what a difference fresh olive oil can make on a meal. A few of my favorite recipes that highlight the flavor of olive oil include:

Chimichurri Potato Tacos with Pinto Beans
Olive Oil Cake
White Bean Dip with Roasted Garlic and Herbs

Disclosure: This recipe was created in partnership with California Olive Ranch. All thoughts and opinions are my own. It's content like this that helps me keep this site running to provide the vegetarian recipes you see every week.