A Recipe from Rebecca (classics): Hasselback Celeriac with Miso and Red Onion | Canalside Community Food

Meera Sodha says she created this recipe largely because she liked the sound of ‘hasselback
celeriac’. Name aside, this is very good. Serve the rich, miso-roasted celeriac and Turkish
salad inside a flatbread, topped with a drizzle of tahini sauce and you will have yourself a
sticky, messy treat. The recipe has several different components but is actually very
straightforward.

Incidentally, Hasselback is the name of a restaurant in Stockholm. The better-known
Hasselback potatoes were supposedly invented there in the 1950s.

Hasselback Celeriac with Miso and Red Onion

Serves 3

Ingredients
For the celeriac
1 large or 2 small celeriacs (about 1-1.2kg total)
2 tablespoons olive oil
pinch of salt

For the miso glaze
60g white miso
½ tablespoon Turkish pepper
2½ tablespoons honey or brown rice syrup
1½ tablespoons lemon juice

For the tahini sauce
100g tahini
5 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt

For the salad
1 large red onion, peeled, halved and sliced into thin half-moons
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon sumac
3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
1 large handful parsley, coarsely chopped

To Serve
6 flatbreads (look here for an excellent recipe)

Preparation
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan).
Chop off the base of the celeriac, and peel off the skin using a peeler or a sharp knife. If it is
large, cut it in half and lay it flat on its cut side. Using your sharp knife, cut slices at 5mm
intervals that go nearly but not all the way through, so that the slices are still joined at the
base, like the pages join the spine of a book. The illustration shows one way to ensure that
you don’t accidentally cut all the way through: place a wooden spoon handle or chopstick on
either side of the celeriac, so that when you cut, they prevent the knife from slicing all the
way to the work-top.

Now place the celeriacs on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil and a pinch of
salt. Place in the oven and roast for 70-90 minutes. Check partway through and drizzle with a
little more oil if necessary. When they golden brown, they are ready for the glaze.

While the celeriacs roast, prepare the other components of the meal.

For the miso glaze: mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
For the tahini sauce: whisk all the ingredients together and put in a serving bowl.
For the salad: combine all the ingredients except the parsley in a serving bow. Mix together
using your hands, and scrunch up the onions a little to soften them. Then add the parsley and
set aside so the flavours can blend while the celeriac roasts.

Once the celeriac is golden and tender, brush with the miso glaze. Try to get some of the
glaze between the slits. Bake for another 8-15 minutes, or until the celeriac is sticky and
golden brown.

To serve, take the celeriac, salad, tahini sauce and bread to the table. Assemble your own
combination of flatbread layered with celeriac and pomegranate-onion salad, topped with a
generous serving of tahini sauce.

Recipe adapted from Meera Sodha, The Guardian, 13 Feb. 2021