Chef Juliette
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Culinary Explorer
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Purée de Céleri-rave (Celeriac)
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2067, Purée de Céleri-rave (Celeriac), from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Purée de céleri-rave turns a knobbly root into silk by one decisive act: dry it fiercely before milk goes in, then finish with butter off the heat for a purée that holds a spoon and melts.
Side Dishes
French
Comfort Food
Holiday
25 min
Active Time
35 min cook•1 hr total
Yield4 servings
Purée de céleri-rave (celeriac purée) teaches the discipline behind every fine root purée: water must leave before milk enters. Celeriac holds more moisture and less starch than potato, so one measured third of plain-boiled potato supplies structure while preserving the root's clean, celery-like character. Butter goes in during the drying, milk restores suppleness, and a final piece of butter gives the surface its quiet gloss.
The source entry assumed a tamis (fine drum sieve), which it calls a tammy, a broad sauté pan over a fierce professional range, and a saucier with another pair of hands to add potato while the celeriac was being pressed. For one cook, one stove, one evening, a food mill or sturdy fine-mesh sieve does the same work. The roots are pressed and weighed separately before combining, a small change that preserves the specified one-third proportion without requiring a brigade.
The brigade quantity and tammy are scaffolding and can go. The ratio, smooth sieving, 3 oz butter per pound of combined purée, fierce drying, correction with milk, and final butter away from the heat are the dish itself, so every one stays. Watch the trail left by your spatula: when it remains open for a second, the purée is dry enough to receive the milk. That is the step that matters most.
Purée de céleri-rave is not the emblem of a single province; it belongs to the cuisine bourgeoise of Paris and to the root-cellar tables of Alsace and Lorraine, where celeriac has long accompanied roast poultry, beef, and game. Classical kitchens carried the household mash into formal service by passing it through a tamis and controlling its moisture over fierce heat. The potato is not careless filler but measured texture control, held to one-third the celeriac purée so the wetter root gains body without losing its identity.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
celeriac
Quantity
About 4 cups (1 1/3 lb / 600 g) after peeling
cut into 1-inch / 2.5 cm pieces
floury potato, such as Russet
Quantity
About 1 1/2 cups (7 oz / 200 g) after peeling
cut into 2-inch / 5 cm chunks; after boiling, use exactly one-third the weight of the celeriac purée
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g), plus more to finish
unsalted butter
Quantity
Up to 2/3 cup (160 ml / 150 g); use exactly 3 oz per 1 lb (85 g per 454 g) combined purée
cubed
whole milk
Quantity
1/2 cup (120 ml / 123 g), as needed
warmed
unsalted butter for finishing
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g)
chilled and diced
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| celeriaccut into 1-inch / 2.5 cm pieces | About 4 cups (1 1/3 lb / 600 g) after peeling |
| floury potato, such as Russetcut into 2-inch / 5 cm chunks; after boiling, use exactly one-third the weight of the celeriac purée | About 1 1/2 cups (7 oz / 200 g) after peeling |
| fine sea salt | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g), plus more to finish |
| unsalted buttercubed | Up to 2/3 cup (160 ml / 150 g); use exactly 3 oz per 1 lb (85 g per 454 g) combined purée |
| whole milkwarmed | 1/2 cup (120 ml / 123 g), as needed |
| unsalted butter for finishingchilled and diced | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Two 2- to 3-quart saucepans
- •Fine-disk food mill or sturdy fine-mesh sieve
- •Potato ricer
- •Digital kitchen scale
- •10-inch / 25 cm wide heavy sauté pan
- •Flat-ended wooden spoon or heatproof spatula
Instructions
- 1
Boil the roots separately
Put the celeriac in a saucepan, cover it generously with cold water, and add the measured salt. Bring to a steady simmer and cook for 18 to 25 minutes, until a knife passes through the thickest piece without grainy resistance. In a second saucepan, cover the potato with fresh unsalted water and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until completely tender but not collapsing. Keep the roots separate because their cooked weights determine the book's exact proportion.
- 2
Sieve and weigh
Drain both roots thoroughly. While they are still hot, pass all the celeriac through a fine-disk food mill or press it firmly through a sturdy fine-mesh sieve. Weigh the celeriac purée. Rice the potato separately, then weigh out exactly one-third as much potato as celeriac purée and fold the two together without beating. Do not add the remaining potato merely to use it up; the proportion gives body without hiding the celeriac.
Keep the potato away from a blender or food processor. Fast blades release too much starch and turn it elastic; a ricer or sieve keeps the texture fine and light. - 3
Dry over fierce heat
Weigh the combined purée, then measure 3 oz butter for every 1 lb purée (85 g for every 454 g, or 18.75 g for every 100 g). Put both in a wide, heavy sauté pan over high heat. Stir and fold continuously for 5 to 8 minutes, scraping the entire pan floor, until the watery sheen disappears, the butter sheen remains, and a track drawn by the spatula stays open for a full second. Fierce heat means rapid, controlled evaporation, not scorching. If the purée begins to catch, lift the pan from the heat while stirring and lower the flame slightly. If browned flecks appear, transfer the unscorched purée to a clean pan without scraping the bottom. Ça se rattrape.
- 4
Restore with warm milk
Lower the heat to medium and beat in the warm milk one tablespoon at a time. Stop when the purée falls from the spoon in a heavy ribbon, settles into a soft mound, and holds gentle furrows without standing stiffly. If it becomes loose, return it to high heat and stir until the spatula track holds again before proceeding. If it is too firm, add another spoonful of milk. The milk restores suppleness only after the excess water has been driven away.
- 5
Finish off heat
Take the pan completely off the heat. Monter au beurre (finish with butter) by beating in the chilled butter a few pieces at a time until the purée is glossy and supple. If butter forms a separate slick at the edge, the purée was too hot; let it stand for 30 seconds, then beat in a teaspoon of warm milk until the emulsion returns. Taste and correct the salt. Spoon the purée generously into a warmed timbale or deep serving bowl and serve at once. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose a celeriac that feels heavy for its size and has no soft patches around the root end. Peel it generously until every brown channel and tough crevice is gone; those fibrous bits will fight the sieve and spoil the smooth finish.
- •Weigh after cooking and sieving, not before. Water loss varies from root to root, and the source's one-third potato proportion refers to the finished celeriac purée. The kitchen scale keeps the canon honest.
- •Whole milk is deliberate. Cream would make the purée heavy, while reduced-fat milk gives less body; milk restores the consistency, then real butter provides the finish. Add no nutmeg, garlic, or pepper here. The source lets celeriac speak for itself.
- •Serve beside roast duck, beef, pork, or game, particularly when the plate carries a dark roasting jus. The pale, buttery purée catches the sauce beautifully and needs no garnish.
Advance Preparation
- •Prepare the purée through the warm-milk stage up to one day ahead. Cool it promptly in a shallow covered container and refrigerate, then reheat over medium-low heat with one or two spoonfuls of milk. Add the final chilled butter only after the pan leaves the heat.
- •For a short same-day hold, keep the purée covered over a barely simmering bain-marie for up to 30 minutes before the final butter. Stir occasionally and keep it away from direct heat so the butter does not separate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 275g)
Calories
440 calories
Total Fat
38 g
Saturated Fat
24 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
11 g
Cholesterol
100 mg
Sodium
600 mg
Total Carbohydrates
24 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
5 g
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