Salt-baked celeriac wedges with seaweed and crispy capers

Name: Salt-baked celeriac wedges with seaweed and crispy capers
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: Serves 4 as a side
Cuisine: British recipes
Ingredients: 1 medium celeriac (500-600g), scrubbed clean and any large roots trimmed; 2¼ sheets nori; 200g fine salt; 300g plain flour, plus extra to dust; 2 tbsp finely chopped rosemary; 150ml warm water; 50g unsalted butter; 1 tbsp capers; Squeeze lemon juice

Portion size: Serves 4 as a side
Hands-on time 30 min. Oven time 1 hour
Difficulty: medium

Freezable

Gluten-free

Vegetarian

Pollyanna Coupland

Food producer, delicious.

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Salt-baking is an incredible technique that allows ingredients to steam in their own juices, seasoning them to perfection at the same time. Celeriac is one of the best things to salt-bake, as it turns earthy, sweet and meltingly soft while keeping its shape. Sliced into wedges, caramelised in butter and seasoned with pops of salty capers, umami-rich seaweed and a little lemon, this is an incredible side dish for your Sunday roast.

Discover more inspiring recipes to make with celeriac, including ‘steaks’ and a vegan mac and cheese.

Before you start

The nori is important here – not only does it impart a salty flavour but it also acts as a barrier between the salt dough and the celeriac to prevent the surface of the vegetable becoming too salty to eat.

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Ingredients

1 medium celeriac (500-600g), scrubbed clean and any large roots trimmed
2¼ sheets nori
200g fine salt
300g plain flour, plus extra to dust
2 tbsp finely chopped rosemary
150ml warm water
50g unsalted butter
1 tbsp capers
Squeeze lemon juice

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Method

Heat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan/gas 4. Put the celeriac in a small baking dish and wrap 2 of the nori sheets around it, sprinkling them with water to help them cling to the surface. Ideally you want the celeriac to be completely covered by the nori.
To make the salt dough, put the salt, flour and chopped rosemary in a bowl. Mix, then pour in the warm water while stirring to create a dough. Roll out on a floured surface into a large circle, about 1cm thick.
Carefully wrap the dough around the celeriac. If it rips a little, you can tear bits of the dough off and plug the holes. Put the wrapped celeriac back in the baking dish, seam-side down, then bake in the oven for 1 hour. You can check if it’s done by pushing in a skewer; once it’s passed through the salt crust there should be no resistance as it goes into the celeriac.
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Leave to cool slightly (although you want it to be warm), then use a serrated knife to break open and remove the salt dough. Scrape off the nori and the celeriac skin – it should peel away easily. Slice the celeriac into wedges.
Add the butter to a large frying pan over a medium heat. Once foaming, add the celeriac wedges and capers and cook, turning the wedges occasionally and basting them until golden. Finish with a squeeze of lemon.
Toast the remaining ¼ sheet nori in a hot, dry pan until crisp, then break it up into little pieces (or whizz in a small blender). Arrange the wedges on a serving platter and spoon over the crispy capers. Drizzle over any butter left in the pan, then sprinkle with the seaweed pieces.