Recipe: Pickled Celeriac

Ever since I first had celery root pickles at the restaurant Taberna de Haro, celeriac has become my new favorite pickle! I have made many batches of pickled celeriac since, as a cook at Taberna de Haro last year and at home.

-Pickled celery root and beets-

Pickling celeriac with beets gives it a nice purple color

Here I want to share with you my recipe to make celeriac refrigerator pickles, which was published in my town newspaper, the Lexington Minuteman, for the Lexington Farmers' Market. Celery root is in season right now, so it is the perfect time to make these pickles. There are a few more weeks left for the Lexington Farmers' Market for this season, or find celery root at another local farmers market near you.

Celery root

Celeriac to appear at the market

By Annabelle Ho

Published Thursday, September 12, 2013

Celeriac, also known as celery root, was one of my favorite vegetables to weed at the farm last summer, no joke. Celery root contains plenty of fiber, as well as vitamin B6, vitamin K, potassium, phosphorous, and more. Although celeriac may be unfamiliar, there are many ways to cook this versatile vegetable.  The leaves and stems of celeriac can be used just like celery.  Celeriac can be eaten raw and grated into salads, or fermented.  Celery root can also be cooked, such as in soup or roasted with other root vegetables. A celeriac puree is a great alternative to mashed potatoes. However, one of my favorite ways to prepare celeriac is to make celery root pickles. Celeriac is delicious pickled, although this pickling recipe can be used with other vegetables as well. Look for celeriac at the Lexington Farmers' Market to arrive fresh from the farms in a week or so. 

Celeriac Refrigerator Pickles

Ingredients:

1 medium celeriac (about 1 ¼ pounds)

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup sugar

1 cup distilled white vinegar

1 cup water

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds

½ teaspoon whole allspice berries

2 bay leaves

2 whole cloves

Directions:

1. Cut off the bottom and top of the celeriac. Peel the celery root and cut into thick matchsticks.
2. Add all of the ingredients except for the celeriac in a pot. Bring the pickling brine to a boil.
3. Add the celeriac and simmer it briefly for about 1 minute, according to taste. Do not simmer the celery root for too long, as it should still have some crunch.
4. Take the pot off the heat and let cool to room temperature.
5. Pour the vegetables and brine into glass jars. Cover the jars and refrigerate them.
6. After 24 hours, eat and enjoy! The pickles can last for up to a few months in the fridge. 

Variations:

• Pickle celeriac with purple beets to give it a purple color.
• Use this pickling brine recipe with other vegetables, such as carrots, radishes, or turnips. Depending on which vegetables you use, how thin the vegetables are cut, and how crunchy you like your pickles, step 3 may be optional, and the raw vegetables can be added to the brine without being simmered.
• Switch up the spices in the mix. For example, dill, cinnamon, and star anise are all good candidates.

Annabelle Ho is a Lexington resident with a Bachelor of Science in nutritional science from Boston University. She maintains a blog at herbalmedicinebox.com, and is a work share volunteer at Waltham Fields Community Farm. Annabelle writes for the Lexington Farmers' Market, and has been a volunteer at the market for several years. The Lexington Farmers' Market is located at the corners of Massachusetts Avenue and Fletcher in the center of Lexington, and is open rain or shine every Tuesday through October.

Cooking at Taberna de Haro

The Spanish wine and tapas restaurant, Taberna de Haro, has changed quite a bit since I first wrote about it three years ago.

Last year, we expanded the restaurant to include a full bar, offering bar tapas and mixed drinks.

The bar
(Photo courtesy of Taberna de Haro)

We also increased our patio seating and revamped our menu. And of course, we have our ever expanding wine list, currently with over 320 Spanish wines.

The patio
(Photo courtesy of Taberna de Haro)

In addition to being a server these past few years, I took on the position as a cook last year. It was a great experience to work in the restaurant in the front and the back of the house. I also enjoyed learning more about cooking and about how many of the dishes that we offer are made.

Making salad for the staff meal
(Photo courtesy of Celeste Radosevich)

My duties included preparing various menu items and weekly specials. I became an expert at cooking the classic Spanish omelette, the Tortilla Española (find a recipe here). Fun items that I also helped to make included pâté and our house-made Spanish blood sausage, morcilla.

House-Made Morcilla: Spanish blood sausage with sliced apple

On Tuesday nights, I was in charge of the cold and brick oven station. This included serving up our suckling pig special, cochinillo asado, cooked in the brick oven and served on Tuesday nights from October - May.

Whole roasted suckling pig

(Photo courtesy of Taberna de Haro)

Heating up the roasted suckling pig for the family meal
(Photo courtesy of Celeste Radosevich)

Other special dishes that I helped to prepare include:

Roasted duck breast over blood orange and frisée greens

Quail egg and house-made lamb bacon on tomato toast

Rabbit escabeche salad with pomegranate seeds and onion

Taberna de Haro is located at 999 Beacon St., Brookline, MA 02446. We offer authentic Spanish cuisine, including tapas, entrees, wines, and cocktails. Enjoy the rest of the patio season while it is still warm out, and look out for our roasted suckling pig, winter, and brick oven dishes returning in October! Visit the website and sign up for the newsletter for more information and to stay up to date about events.

Although I will not be returning as a cook in the fall, I will still be serving at Taberna de Haro. Come by and say hello! I will also be continuing my position as a CSA Distribution Coordinator at Waltham Fields Community Farm until the season ends in the end of October. Finally, I am looking forward to beginning a Master of Science in Food and Nutrition Program at Framingham State University this fall!

Taberna de Haro

It's been a busy summer with two part-time jobs and numerous classes and activities, but I am very glad to have gotten a job as a waitress at Taberna de Haro, a Spanish wine and tapas restaurant, in May. Although I have had no previous experience with the Spanish language or cuisine (I am now taking a beginner's Spanish class at the Boston Center of Adult Education), and a 200+ wine list is never easy for anyone to master, there are many things that I enjoy about working at the restaurant.

The outdoor patio seating is a definite plus during the warmer months.

In addition to working with a fabulous staff, as a foodie, I love all the locally sourced items on our menu. All of our beef comes from River Rock Farm, based in Brimfield, MA, and is grass-fed and raised without antibiotics or artificial growth hormones. The organic eggs are from Country Hen based in Hubbardston, MA, and our bread is from Iggy's, based in Cambridge. Occasional special menu items include local produce from Siena Farms and the owner, Deborah Hansen's, garden. Several other items on our menu are locally sourced as well.

Some of my favorite tapas include the Arroz negro (black paella with ali oli), Espinacas a la catalana (sauteed spinach w/ garlic, pine nuts, & golden raisins), Gambas al ajillo (shrimp with garlic and olive oil), Almejas con jamon (big local clams with ham, white wine, & EVOO), and of course any of our beef dishes (hey, you gotta love it if it's grass-fed!).

I love all things fermentation, so learning about Spanish wines is a blast, although it is still a somewhat overwhelming task. One of our wines, Les Sorts Jove from the Priorat country, is made by carbonic maceration, in which fermentation takes place within whole grapes in a carbon dioxide rich environment, as opposed to the normal winemaking process, in which grapes are crushed and fermented with yeast. Pretty cool! Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Taberna de Haro is located at 999 Beacon St., Brookline, MA 02446. Check out their tapas menu and wine list. You can make a reservation online or by phone at (617) 277-8272, and say hello if you stop by!