Blanched Celeriac Rémoulade
A variant of Celeriac Remoulade — The documented brief-blanch branch for a softer raw-root bite.
Contains egg · sometimes contains soy — check the label · only in an optional ingredient: dairy
Restrictions
ContainseggIt is in an ingredient you cannot leave out.
Sometimes contains — check the labelsoy (Mayonnaise)Some brands have it, some do not. The recipe cannot tell, so this is the one you check yourself.
Only if you add itdairy (milk)Leave that ingredient out and the dish does not have it.
Diets
VegetarianPescatarianNo porkNo alcohol
Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.
Ingredients
Servings:
| 800 g | celeriac (whole, trimmed and peeled) |
| 1 unit | lemon (juiced, half for the holding water and half for the dressing) |
| 1 l | water (cold, for acidulating) |
| ½ cup | mayonnaise |
| 2 tbsp | Dijon mustard |
| 1 tsp | salt |
| ½ tsp | black pepper (ground) |
Optional
Not counted above. The dish works without them.
| 6 unit | cornichons (finely diced) |
| 1 tbsp | capers (chopped) |
| 1 tbsp | parsley (flat-leaf, chopped) |
| 2 tbsp | milk (to loosen the dressing) |
Steps
- mix3 minwhisked smooth, in the serving bowlmayonnaise + Dijon mustard + half the lemon juice + salt + black pepper — build the dressing first, before you touch the root, so the cut celeriac never sits waiting; if it looks stiff enough to tear the matchsticks when folded, thin it with the optional milk
- peel6 minknife, not a peelerceleriac: cut a flat off the top and bottom, stand it upright on the flat base, then cut the skin away in downward strokes deep enough to take the whole knobbly, root-hairy layer. A vegetable peeler skates over the pockets and leaves grit and woody skin behind, which reads as bitterness in a raw salad
- julienne12 min1/8 in / 2 mm on a sidepeeled celeriac → even planks, planks stacked → matchsticks the width of a wooden match, dropped into water + the remaining lemon juice as you go. The acidulation is purely about browning — cut celeriac oxidises to grey-brown within minutes — not flavour. This dimension is the recipe: strips this size stay audibly crisp under mayonnaise, while anything finer goes limp the moment the dressing lands. A mandoline julienne blade or a julienne peeler is a fair shortcut; a fine box grater is the one tool that guarantees failure
- blanch2 min30-second blanch, then cold-water shockBefore dressing, drain the celeriac matchsticks and blanch them in boiling water for 30 seconds. Transfer immediately to cold water, then drain and dry thoroughly. This softens the raw-root bite and gives a less crunchy rémoulade.
- fold4 mingentle, drained and dried firstdrain the matchsticks and dry them hard in a towel or salad spinner, then celeriac + dressing + optional cornichons + capers + parsley, folding rather than stirring. Wet strips dilute the sauce into a thin slick that pools at the bottom of the bowl instead of clinging, and hard stirring bruises the matchsticks into the same soft mass as cutting them too fine
- season2 minto tastetaste and correct: more mustard and lemon if it reads flat and fatty, more mayonnaise if the root tastes raw and dusty. Sources run from a quarter cup to a full cup of mayonnaise per root, so half a cup is a starting point, not a verdict — adjust here, not after chilling
- rest60 mincovered, refrigeratedthe mustard and acid soften the root just enough to lose its raw edge and the seasoning settles through. It keeps up to about four days, but each day it gives up more water and more crunch — day one is the dish