Chef Thomas
A Ploughman's Salad
The old pub ploughman's, shaken loose from its board and laid across butter lettuce with a sharp mustard dressing, for the kind of lunch that feels like you've given yourself the afternoon off.
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Celeriac Remoulade
Created by Chef Thomas
Celeriac cut into pale matchsticks and dressed in sharp mustard and crème fraîche, the sort of thing you make on a Sunday and find yourself eating from the bowl with a fork on Tuesday.
Salads
British
Dinner Party
Make Ahead
25 min
Active Time
0 min cook•PT25M plus 30 minutes resting total
Yield4 servings
Celeriac is not a beautiful vegetable. It arrives at the market looking like something pulled from the ground by force, which it was, covered in root hairs and caked mud and a general air of not caring what you think of it. This is part of the appeal. The flavour is hidden inside all that ugliness: clean, celery-bright, with a nuttiness that only shows itself once you've taken a knife to it.
Remoulade is a French word for something that doesn't need a French word. You cut the celeriac into matchsticks, dress it in mustard and crème fraîche, and leave it alone for a while. The dressing softens the raw edges. The mustard does the talking. It's the kind of thing that gets better the longer it sits in the fridge, which makes it invaluable if you're feeding people later and want one less thing to think about.
This is a winter salad in the truest sense. Celeriac comes into season around October and stays good through to March, and during those months there's very little I'd rather have on the table beside a piece of cold meat or a slab of smoked mackerel. I wrote it down in the notebook the first time I made it, years ago: celeriac, mustard, lemon, Tuesday, rain. I've made it most weeks since, and the note hasn't needed updating.
The knife work is the only real task here. Fine matchsticks, as thin as your patience allows. Everything else is stirring and waiting. A recipe is a conversation, not a contract, and this one doesn't ask much of you. A sharp knife, a steady hand, and the good sense to use more mustard than seems reasonable.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
celeriac
Quantity
1 medium (about 800g before peeling)
peeled and julienned
lemon
Quantity
1
juiced
crème fraîche
Quantity
3 tablespoons
Dijon mustard
Quantity
1 tablespoon
good mayonnaise
Quantity
1 tablespoon
shallot
Quantity
1 small
very finely minced
capers
Quantity
1 tablespoon
roughly chopped
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
small handful
chopped
fine sea salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| celeriacpeeled and julienned | 1 medium (about 800g before peeling) |
| lemonjuiced | 1 |
| crème fraîche | 3 tablespoons |
| Dijon mustard | 1 tablespoon |
| good mayonnaise | 1 tablespoon |
| shallotvery finely minced | 1 small |
| capersroughly chopped | 1 tablespoon |
| flat-leaf parsleychopped | small handful |
| fine sea salt | to taste |
| black pepper | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Sharp chef's knife or mandoline with julienne blade
- •Large mixing bowl
- •Chopping board
Instructions
- 1
Peel and cut the celeriac
Take a heavy knife and cut the celeriac in half through its equator. Set each half flat side down on the board. The peel is thick and gnarled, so use the knife rather than a peeler, cutting downward in sections, following the shape. You'll lose more than you'd like. That's normal. What remains is pale, dense, and smells of celery and wet earth. Cut it into thin slices, then stack the slices and cut again into matchsticks, as fine as you have the patience for. The finer the cut, the better the dressing clings. A mandoline helps if you have one, but a sharp knife and ten minutes of attention will get you there.
Celeriac browns quickly once cut. Have your lemon juice ready. Toss the matchsticks with half the lemon juice as you go to keep them pale. It also starts the seasoning. - 2
Make the dressing
In a bowl large enough to hold everything, stir together the crème fraîche, mustard, mayonnaise, the remaining lemon juice, and the minced shallot. The dressing should taste sharp and assertive on its own, more mustard than you think is polite. The celeriac will absorb it and mellow the edges. If it tastes perfectly balanced now, it'll be bland in half an hour. Season well with salt and pepper.
- 3
Dress and rest
Add the celeriac matchsticks to the bowl and turn everything together with your hands or a pair of tongs until every strand is coated. Fold in the capers. Cover and leave in the fridge for at least thirty minutes. The celeriac softens slightly in the dressing, loses its raw bite, and becomes something altogether more willing. An hour is better. Overnight is better still.
Taste again after resting. The celeriac drinks up the dressing. You may need another squeeze of lemon or a touch more mustard to bring the sharpness back. - 4
Finish and serve
Take the remoulade from the fridge, stir it through once, and scatter the parsley over the top. Serve it as it is, or next to something that wants its company: cold roast beef, smoked fish, a slice of good ham, or just bread and butter and nothing else. It's a side dish with the quiet confidence to be the main event.
Chef Tips
- •The mustard is everything. Use a proper Dijon, the kind that hits the back of your nose when you open the jar. Mild mustard makes a mild remoulade, and a mild remoulade isn't worth the cutting.
- •If you have a mandoline, this is the time to use it. Set it to the finest julienne setting and the whole job takes five minutes instead of fifteen. Mind your fingers. A mandoline doesn't care whose knuckle it meets.
- •This sits alongside smoked fish beautifully. A piece of hot-smoked mackerel, flaked into rough chunks, with a pile of this remoulade and some watercress is one of the better quick suppers I know.
- •Stir in a tablespoon of wholegrain mustard alongside the Dijon if you want texture. The little seeds pop between your teeth and give the whole thing a different character.
Advance Preparation
- •The remoulade improves with time. Make it up to two days ahead and keep it covered in the fridge. The celeriac softens into the dressing and the flavours deepen.
- •If serving at a dinner party, make it the morning of, or even the day before. One less thing to do when people arrive. Scatter the parsley just before it goes to the table.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 185g)
Calories
130 calories
Total Fat
7 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
12 mg
Sodium
560 mg
Total Carbohydrates
16 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
3 g
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