Baked Celery Fries

baked-celery-fries

Celery is an amazing vegetable that is whole eatable. It can be consumed raw, cooked or dried and many wise ancient nations knew that. Ayurwedic medicine recommended celery seeds for colds and indigestion and since ancient times Chinese people took celery as a treatment for high blood pressure. Greeks made celery wine which athletes drank before some important competition; elixir made from celery was considered an aphrodisiac and stalk with leaves represented symbol of fertility. And imagine this – modern scientists found out that celery contains androsterone, a pheromone released by sweat to attract opposite sex.

Modern medicine uses celery seeds for its oil powerful effects which fight a number of aliment from high cholesterol and hypertension, to bloating, water retention…

Although it was used primarily as a medicinal plant, there are few celery recipes from the ancient world found and preserved and one of them was uncovered on the frescoes in Roman town Pompeii. The recipe called for chopped celery root then roasted in oven and served with ground pepper and honey. And that recipe idea is very similar to the one I made – except without the honey. But if you are willing to try it like the ancient Pompeian people, please go ahead.

Anyway, including this plant into your diet is pretty great idea, and if you haven’t made some dishes with the celery root (the proper name for it is celeriac), this simple oven fried celery recipe will reveal its magnificent flavor and probably make you explore more options on how to implement this extraordinary vegetable into your soups, dips or salads, and you will enjoy it, I guarantee.

Baked Celery Fries
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 larger celery root
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon mustard
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
Tools
  • vegetable brush
  • peeler
  • cutting board
  • knife
  • mixing bowl
  • larger bowl
  • paper towel
  • wooden spoon
  • baking sheet
Instructions
  1. First of all, turn the oven to 180°C / 350°F – all the preparation will be done in a jiffy.
  2. Since the celery root is too bumpy, clean the root very thoroughly with vegetable brush under the running water, pat dry the celeriac using paper towel. To peel it properly, you need to cut the top and bottom of a root, as well as some bigger bumps with sharp knife. Then continue with a peeler, until you remove all skin and the little freckles under the celery skin.
  3. Fill one larger bowl with water and squeeze half of a lemon in it. Carefully cut the root into sticks and submerge them immediately into lemon water, so they will not turn brown, count to ten and then put them into a sieve to drain off water.
  4. Now take a mixing bowl and put a few tablespoons of olive oil in it. Add mustard, salt and pepper, stir it with spoon, put the celery stick in and toss until evenly coated with the oil and mustard mix.
  5. Arrange fries on a lightly oiled baking sheet in a single layer. Bake it for about 20 - 25 minutes, or until they are golden. Serve them right from the oven, with some nice salad and exotic dip.
 

 

 

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