Whole roast celeriac with sage and walnut pesto
Serves: 4 as a main, or 6-8 as a side
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Toby Scott
Whole roast celeriac with sage and walnut pesto
Make celeriac the star of the show by roasting it whole and drizzling liberally with an autumnal pesto. Serve as a vegetarian centrepiece, or as a side to a more traditional roast dinner
Serves: 4 as a main, or 6-8 as a side
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
418Kcal
Fat
37gr
Saturates
6gr
Carbs
6gr
Sugars
4gr
Fibre
12gr
Protein
8gr
Salt
0.7gr
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our Senior Food Producer. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)
See more of Abigail Spooner’s recipes
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our Senior Food Producer. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)
See more of Abigail Spooner’s recipes
Ingredients
- 1 whole celeriac, about 900g-1kg
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the pesto (makes 225g)
- 60g walnuts
- ½ x 20g pack sage, leaves picked
- 30g shredded kale or cavolo nero
- 30g Parmesan, finely grated - use vegetarian cheese if required
- 1½ tbsp lemon juice
- 1 fat garlic clove
- 100ml olive oil
Step by step
- Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Scrub the celeriac under running water and pat dry with kitchen paper. Place two long strips of foil in a cross on your worktop and sit the celeriac in the middle. Rub the olive oil all over the celeriac and season well. Wrap up in the foil, sealing the edges tightly but leaving some room rather than hugging it too tightly. Place in a roasting tin and roast for 2-2½ hours until almost tender, then open the foil and fold down from the top. Roast for a further 25-30 minutes until the skin crisps up a little. Pierce to check it is soft and tender inside.
- Meanwhile for the pesto, dry fry the walnuts for a few minutes until lightly toasted. Cool then tip 40g into a food processor with the sage leaves, kale, Parmesan, lemon juice and garlic. Whiz to a rough paste first then drizzle in the oil with the motor still running, until combined. Season to taste and set aside until ready to serve (see ‘Get ahead’, above). Chop the remaining 20g walnuts.
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Cut the roast celeriac into wedges and serve drizzled with the pesto and topped with a scattering of chopped toasted walnuts.
