Chef Joost
Bietensalade (Dutch Beetroot Salad)
Cold beetroot, tart apple, walnuts, and a crumble of salty cheese: the Dutch buffet dish that proves winter storage food can arrive wearing its brightest coat.
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Selderijsalade (Dutch Celeriac Salad)
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Selderijsalade is the quiet white bowl of the Dutch party table: raw celeriac, sharpened with lemon and mustard, bound in mayonnaise, and made better by waiting.
Salads
Dutch
Potluck
Celebration
Make Ahead
25 min
Active Time
0 min cook•1 hr 55 min total
Yield6 to 8 servings
In my grandmother's second notebook, the one she rebuilt after de Ramp, the great flood, the party salads lived in the back pages. Not because they were unimportant. Because they were reliable. Birthdays, New Year visits, church halls, a table pulled a little too close to the wall so everyone could pass behind the chairs: there would be bread rolls, butter, eiersalade (egg salad), zalmsalade (salmon salad), and this pale, sharp selderijsalade, cool from the refrigerator and quietly doing its work.
But let me tell you a secret. The name already tells you less than you think. Selderij can mean the green stalks, the leaf, or the root, but this salad belongs to knolselderij, literally tuber celery, celeriac: the rough winter root that looks like it was pulled from a canal bank and then apologised for itself. Do not be fooled. Under that hairy skin is celery made dense and sweet, with a peppery edge that mayonnaise needs more than mayonnaise knows.
There is no cooking here, only the old Dutch talent for making something useful wait gracefully. Shred the celeriac fine, touch it immediately with lemon and salt, and you do two things at once: you keep it pale and you soften the raw root without boiling away its bite. Make the dressing sharper than you think sensible, because the celeriac will calm it down. Then chill it. Hou het altijd simpel, always keep it simple. A cold buffet dish should be ready before the guests take off their coats.
Selderijsalade belongs to the Dutch koud buffet, the cold buffet of birthdays, weddings, church halls, and New Year gatherings that became especially common in twentieth-century home entertaining. Its base is knolselderij, celeriac, a winter root long grown in Low Countries kitchen gardens because it stored when lettuce could not. The useful lesson is that Dutch salade does not always mean leaves; in this tradition it often means a cold, mayonnaise-bound dish made to rest before the table fills.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
celeriac (knolselderij)
Quantity
1 medium, about 700g whole or 450g peeled
peeled and finely shredded
lemon juice
Quantity
2 tablespoons
divided
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste
mayonnaise
Quantity
120g
creme fraiche or thick plain yogurt
Quantity
60g
mild Dutch mustard or Dijon mustard
Quantity
1 tablespoon
pickle brine or white wine vinegar
Quantity
1 tablespoon
sugar
Quantity
1 teaspoon
white pepper
Quantity
to taste
freshly ground
tart apple, such as Elstar
Quantity
1 small
peeled and cut into fine matchsticks
gherkins (augurken)
Quantity
2 small
finely chopped
celery leaf or flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
2 tablespoons
finely chopped
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| celeriac (knolselderij)peeled and finely shredded | 1 medium, about 700g whole or 450g peeled |
| lemon juicedivided | 2 tablespoons |
| fine sea salt | 1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| mayonnaise | 120g |
| creme fraiche or thick plain yogurt | 60g |
| mild Dutch mustard or Dijon mustard | 1 tablespoon |
| pickle brine or white wine vinegar | 1 tablespoon |
| sugar | 1 teaspoon |
| white pepperfreshly ground | to taste |
| tart apple, such as Elstarpeeled and cut into fine matchsticks | 1 small |
| gherkins (augurken)finely chopped | 2 small |
| celery leaf or flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped | 2 tablespoons |
Equipment Needed
- •Box grater or mandoline with julienne blade
- •Large mixing bowl
- •Rubber spatula
Instructions
- 1
Shred the celeriac
Cut away the rough outside of the celeriac with a sturdy knife until only clean white flesh remains. Shred it finely on a box grater or with a julienne blade, then toss it at once with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and the salt. Let it stand for 15 minutes. The lemon keeps the root pale, and the salt begins softening the raw threads so the salad eats cleanly instead of woody.
Do not grate the celeriac and wander off. It browns quickly in the air, like apple, and the lemon is not decoration here. It is part of the method. - 2
Make the dressing
In a large bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, creme fraiche, mustard, pickle brine or vinegar, sugar, the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and a few grinds of white pepper. Taste it now. It should be bright and a little too sharp on its own, because the celeriac and apple will soften it.
- 3
Fold the salad
If liquid has collected under the celeriac, squeeze the shredded root lightly in your hands and let the excess drip away. Add the celeriac, apple, gherkins, and celery leaf to the dressing, then fold until every thread is coated. Do this gently; you want a tangled salad, not a paste.
- 4
Chill and serve
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour 30 minutes, or up to overnight. Taste it cold before serving and adjust with salt, lemon, or white pepper. Serve in a shallow bowl with brown bread, rolls, or alongside the other cold salads on the buffet. This is not a dish to fuss over at the last minute. It has already done its best work while you were setting the table.
If the salad seems slightly tight before chilling, leave it alone. Celeriac relaxes as it rests, and the dressing loosens into the threads.
Chef Tips
- •Choose celeriac that feels heavy for its size and smells clean and celery-like when cut. If the centre is hollow, spongy, or grey, the salad will taste tired before you begin.
- •A box grater works, but a mandoline with a julienne blade gives the long fine threads that make this salad feel properly light. Use the guard. Blood is not a traditional garnish.
- •Keep the dressing sharp. Mayonnaise alone makes the salad dull; mustard, lemon, and pickle brine give the root its cool party-table bite.
- •Make it the day before if you can. Selderijsalade is at its best after a cold rest, when the celeriac has softened but still keeps a little snap under the teeth.
Advance Preparation
- •Best made 4 to 24 hours ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator.
- •Keeps for 2 days refrigerated. Stir gently before serving, and freshen with a squeeze of lemon if the flavour has gone quiet.
- •Do not freeze. The mayonnaise splits and the celeriac loses the crisp bite that makes the salad worth eating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 125g)
Calories
185 calories
Total Fat
16 g
Saturated Fat
4 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
12 g
Cholesterol
15 mg
Sodium
480 mg
Total Carbohydrates
10 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
2 g
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