What is Carrot and Celeriac Remoulade?
Carrot and Celeriac Remoulade is a classic French salad which you may have never heard of! At least, I had never heard of it before I moved to France to live.
Although I do like to make salads from scratch, I often bought coleslaw pre packaged in the UK, for convenience. Unfortunately, the coleslaw in France tends to be mostly grated carrot in vinegar, which is not particularly appetising. Remoulade is a name for a mayonnaise based sauce, often flavoured with mustard and herbs. In fact, if you go to a typical French supermarket you would find it difficult to find a mayonnaise without mustard in it. It sounds odd, but there isn't a strong mustard taste and I actually find UK brands tasteless. My favourite brand is Benedicta and luckily I can buy it online and get my fix.
What is celeriac?
If you have never tried this vegetable before it resembles a knobbly white swede but with a lighter texture. It can be quite awkward to peel and it is easier to cut off the knobbly end. As soon as the peeledsurface is exposed to the air it will start to turn brown so it needs to be put in water with lemon juice, if it's to be cooked , or just in lemon juice if it's to be eaten raw.
The celeriac is crunchy, like a carrot, with a subtle celery flavour which goes well with the sweetness of carrots.
How to serve celeriac
In France, it is often served as a puree enriched with cream which is delicious as a vegetable side dish. In fact, it is so popular you can buy frozen puree that you just warm through in a saucepan.
Cook the celeriac in boiling water in small chunks, as it does take some time to become tender. Try mixing cooked potato and celeriac together for a new take on mashed potatoes.
Ingredients for carrot and Celeriac Remoulade
For this recipe you will need equal parts of carrot and celeriac and lemon juice to coat. For this recipe bottled lemon juice is fine if you don't have any fresh lemons.
Although the classic recipe calls for mayonnaise, I have cut the calories in this dish by swapping half of the mayonnaise for fat-free yoghurt, with whole grain mustard as a flavouring. For the herb element I've used coriander, because I prefer it to parsley. Typically, flat leaf parsley or snipped chives are used.
How to make Carrot and Celeriac Remoulade.
I always make this in the food processor and it takes longer to clear up than it does to make it! It's also easily made by hand grating.
Using a medium grater attachment to grate the carrots and then transfer them to a large bowl.
Peel and immediately grate the celeriac then add to the carrots with the lemon juice and stir well.
Add the remaining ingredients and chill until ready to serve.
How to serve Carrot and celeriac Remoulade
Use this recipe as a replacement for coleslaw as a salad side dish. It is often served as part of a charcuterie board, or just with cold meat. It's great in sandwiches too.
Due to the yoghurt in the dressing, I would make sure that this is eaten within a couple of days.
Similar Recipes to try
- Pomegranate Pistachio Cous Cous Salad
- Coleslaw
- French Mushroom Salad
- Maple Roasted Beetroot Salad
- Coronation Chicken Mango Salad
- Mango and Mint Tabbouleh
- Garlic and Tarragon Potato Salad
Carrot and Celeriac Remoulade
Ingredients
- 300 g carrots peeled weight
- 300 g celeriac peeled weight
- 6 tbsp mayonnaise
- 6 tbsp fat free yoghurt
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 20 g coriander finely chopped
- seasoning to taste
- celery leaves to garnish
Instructions
- Grate the carrot in a food processor and place in a large bowl.
- Repeat with the celeriac and immediately add the lemon juice and mix well.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
- Garnish with celery leaves or a few coriander leaves if liked.
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My daughter loves everything related to France. This carrot and remoulade salad will be a great way to get her eat her veggies!
Thanks Karen. I do miss the French food but having fun recreating it!
One of my favorite salads and one I've been enjoying it during our travels in Europe. Your version looks great.
Thanks Nikole. It would be a great salad with shrimp as it's so light and the flavours aren't too strong to overpower it.
Thanks Brian. I'm not a huge parsley fan but the family loves coriander so it goes in most salads.
Thanks Lesli. It's a knobbly beast but worth the effort.
Thanks Michelle. These days I have trouble with the amount of mayonnaise in dressings making salads unhealthy and no one notices the difference.
I think it's underused in the UK too but this year we will have a national shortage of broccoli and cauliflower due to the weather so perhaps it will have its day!
Celeriac is such an underused veggie here in America. As such, it is quite expensive. However, whenever I can find them at a good price, I always buy it. I love celeriac and wish it was more readily available here. This looks like a great way to utilize it next time I buy one.
I love the mix of yogurt and mayonnaise in the dressing! It's a bit sneaky to be a bit more healthy, but still have loads of flavor. Beautiful colors in this salad too. Delicious! Thank you.
I've always wondered what that was in the exotic produce section and how exactly to use celeriac! This salad sounds very delicious!
Remoulade is one of my favourite salads, celeriac is a fugly ingredient but has such great flavour. Loved the addition of coriander which added a nice little twist.
This sounds delicious! I have heard of celeriac but have never cooked with it. Can't wait to give this a try. I think it will be delicious with some grilled shrimp!
Thanks Kelly. It's very popular in France and a very underused vegetable that has a great taste as well.
Thanks Paula. It's a subtle taste and much milder than a coleslaw too.
Thanks Danielle. Yes, it's great when it's warm and perfect as a sandwich filling too.
Thanks Adrianne. We odten have with grills in the summer and it's perfect with chicken too!
I enjoyed reading your post and learning about new foods. I have never seen or heard of celeriac nor did I realize that the mayonnaise in the UK was so different.
I don't remember ever eating celeriac. But I was always intrigued by the idea of making a puree with it. Well, I'm adding this remoulade, so simple and gorgeous!
Such an easy and delicious meal - just perfect for the heat this week. I've found carrot to be such a versatile ingredient to use and have been experimenting with it for quite a lot. Excited to try this remoulade.
I can see this being used for so many meals! My 1st choice would be for roast chicken. It looks so simple and easy too! Thanks for a great recipe!!
Thanks Alison. We have it hot in the winter raw in the summer.
Thanks Sylvie. We actually prefer it to coleslaw now.
I have never used celeriac in a recipe before. I'm always interested in trying new vegetables, can't wait to give this a try!
Such an original and delicious twist on the classic coleslaw - I love celeriac, we really don't use it enough! Thank you for this great recipe
Thanks Megala!
Thanks Mimi. It is one of those vegetables that can be divisive. My husband loves it raw but not cooked!
This is very pretty. Unfortunately, celeriac is the one food I can’t tolerate. I can’t even handle the smell of it. Well, i guess I could add sea urchin to the list. Not a good experience with those yet...
Wonderful salad brimming with freshness & flavor! It looks so appetizing.