Authentic or not, this vegan bouillabaisse is subtly sweet with a Mediterranean touch. One pot, mostly hands free. Perfect for make-ahead and lunch box.
Do you like celeriac? I usually ignore it in supermarket as it’s kind of ugly-looking, very earth-toned and it simply passed through my eye-sight, like a ghost. Until recently, celeriac appeared often on a restaurant menu as salted celeriac or a soup.
When I saw one fresh, it triggered my cooking nerve suddenly, eventually bought one home without knowing how to cook it.
I then, reading Bee Wilson’s cookbook – The Secret of Cooking, by chance there’s a recipe called for a celeriac. It’s a one-pot dish and I had all the ingredients at home, so I cooked it right away.
Celeriac and Beans Bouillabaisse Recipe
A vegan bouillabaisse doesn’t mean being boring. The roasted celeriac offers sweetness and the tomatoes, white wine and citrus bring a Mediterranean touch. It’s healthy and delicious!
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 1 medium-large celeriac, diced
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- 400 g tinned white beans, roughly drained (I used butter beans)
- 2 x 400 g tinned plum tomatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 star anise
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- ½ onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 2-3 stalks of celery, finely sliced
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 peel from a tangerine
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 100 ml white wine
How to Make
- First, prepare the celeriac by peeling and cutting into dices. Season with salt and pepper, rub with a glug of olive oil, then roast at 200ºC for 30 minutes or until golden. Or, you can slowly pan-roast it in a casserole pan to achieve a similar result.
- While that is happening, start cooking the bouillabaisse sauce. Warm the olive oil in a large casserole pan over medium-low heat, fry the star anise and fennel until fragrant.
- Stir in the celery, onions, garlic and a generous pinch of salt, gently cook until the onions are soft enough. Add the smoked paprika to stir-fry for 1 further minute or so to let the aroma rise.
- Add the tomatoes, tangerine peel, sugar, salt and white wine. Use a spatula to press down the tomatoes to release its juice. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the sauce reach your preferred consistency. Blitz the sauce in a blender if you want it to be soupy.
- By this time, the celeriac should be well roasted. Stir them in the pan together with the beans, some water cling on the beans is fine. Discard the star anise and tangerine peel. Check for seasoning.
- Freshly grate in some Parmigiano Reggiano, sprinkle in pepper and garnish with parsley. Serve with a slice of crusty sourdough bread.
More One Pot Meal Recipes
- Spiced Seafood Over Crispy Orzo
- Poached Fish in Charred Tomato Broth
- Easy One Pot Asian Prawn Noodle Soup (Super Comforting)
- Smoky Paprika Sausage and Lentils Stew
- Borlotti Beans and Sausages Stew
