Have you ever even seen a celery root? Celery root was completely new to me prior to this recipe. It is also called “celeriac” in the States.

I happened upon celery root while reading My Paris Kitchen by David Leibovitz (a great Parisian-focused cookbook written by an American living in Paris). A couple of days later, I noticed celery root for the first time at my local Korean grocery store.

I like venturing into Asian grocery stores because from what I’ve seen they tend to carry a greater variety of produce than standard American grocery stores. My local area has quite a few popular international grocery store chains and I still have yet to explore of all of them. It’s fun to walk through the aisles and take home some fruit or tuber I’ve never tried before and find a recipe for it.

So, of course, when I first learned that celery had a root that was edible and harvested (never thought about it before!), I jumped on this recipe. David Leibovitz writes that this recipe is quite popular in France because it’s tasty, crisp, and they hate wasting food. 

I can understand! Imagine how many celery roots are wasted because many (I assume I’m not alone in this?) Americans have never encountered them!

And what’s more… when you don’t know what that big brown ball is on the produce shelf, you’re not so likely to throw it into your cart along with your apples and strawberries.

If you do venture into throwing that celery root ball into your shopping cart, you will be rewarded.

I can’t yet speak for how this vegetable root is as a cooked dish (although I have spied some braised celery root and celery root puree recipes elsewhere), as a raw salad it is so light, crisp, and delicious.

David Leibovitz’s recipe leans on mayonnaise as the primary ingredient of the dressing. Of course, that’s not going to happy here at Fit French Vegan (but enjoy whatever mayonnaise or Vegenaise you might like if you prefer!). Here is David’s celeri remoulade recipe for reference.

As a fit substitute for mayonnaise or Vegenaise, consider adding in a tablespoon or two of the Fit French Vegan homemade vegan yogurt.

To make this recipe Fit and Vegan, I skipped any oils or added fats and focused on doubling down on the dijon mustard (my favorite) and lemon juice and added the miracle herb of fresh parsley. In France celeri remoulade is often used as a side dish to heavier meat dishes.

You could also add this alongside any substantial dishes such as white beans or lentil soup. I ate it as an afternoon snack and followed it up with a fresh peach with cinnamon. So light and delicious–I couldn’t wait to write it up for the blog.

Quick note on tools: this recipe requires the use of a grater. Grate up the celery root by hand or use your trusty food processor’s grater attachment.

Celery Root Remoulade

• Author: Fit French Vegan
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 15 mins
• Yield: 1.5 cups of salad
• Category: Snack, Side, Special Ingredient
• Method: Grated
• Cuisine: Vegan

This grated celery root salad is a wonderful introduction for those who have yet to enjoy celery root. It is light, refreshing, lemony, with the best little bit of tang and salt from the dijon mustard. For larger serving sizes, bring home more celery root bulbs and multiply the recipe accordingly!