Celery Root Schnitzel

Schnitzel is ubiquitous in Germany. Any restaurant serving up traditional, German fare is going to have some kind of schnitzel on the menu. For a German restaurant to forgo it would be like an architect skipping the roof. I couldn’t avoid crossing paths with the stuff when I first moved here six years ago, and it’s at the top of the eating bucket list for visiting friends or family.

Traditionally it's a thin slice of tenderized meat, breaded before frying. Usually the meat is veal, but I don't think German cuisine has met a meat it wouldn't cover in breading and fry. These days, you can find chicken schnitzel all over Israel thanks to the German Jews who brought it there.

Although I dabbled in schnitzel during my early years of life in Germany, I’ve since long eschewed the dish as I started to lean vegetarian before ditching meat entirely a few years back. That is, until perusing the pages of Fania Lewando’s “The Vilna Vegetarian” cookbook.

Lewando was a pre-World War II kosher caterer, chef, and cookbook author who tied Jewish values to vegetarianism long before the first tempeh brisket. A new school of vegetarian Jewish cookbook authors and chefs have since rediscovered her work, namely through a translated edition of “The Vilna Vegetarian.”

When it comes to schnitzel, Lewando offered up a number of veggie alternatives. There’s cauliflower, carrot, green pea, savoy cabbage, and celeriac schnitzel––each following a similar formula of beading your vegetable of choice with an egg, flour, and bread crumbs to fry up in some oil. I opted for the celeriac variety while recreating some of her dishes for an article on a resurgence in Ashkenazi Jewish vegetarianism.

A celery root comes in a round shape that’s easy to cut up into schnitzel-sized pieces so you’re as close to the real deal as possible. It’s a dish with little to no fuss––so long as you’re not intimidated by the frying. But assuming you’ve worked with latkes before, you’re as gold as, well, freshly fried schnitzel. Plus in the spirit and increased popularity of eating seasonally, celery root is at its peak in January and is something of a cooking confidant through the cold winter months.

I’ll admit the word “celery” brings to mind wildly different flavors than “schnitzel.” The latter is crispy, savory, warm, chewy, and comforting. Celery is something you dip into peanut butter or sauté to start up a matzo ball soup. But frying such vegetables is hardly anything new. Think of Japanese tempura. Now that’s a cuisine that hasn’t met a vegetable it wouldn’t fry. Sweet potato, squash, lotus root, eggplant, oyster mushrooms––all solid options for a veggie tempura.

Boiling and frying the celery root softens the traditional flavors associated with celery, hidden behind the breaded crunch and savory exterior. I add some homemade jam to the dish in pursuit of a tasting memory of one of the best schnitzels I’ve ever had that came from a brewery in Düsseldorf. It’s a contrast in flavors (fruity and sweet against savory) that just works.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Makes: 2 schnitzels

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium-sized celery root (about 1kg or a little over 2lbs) cut in half
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• ¼ cup flour
• ½ cup matzo meal or bread crumbs
• 1 large egg
• Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• Vegetable oil

PREPARATION

1. Carefully cut the skin off the celery root and slice it in half. Cut the remaining celery root into 1/2-inch thick, schnitzel-sized pieces. Cook in boiling water with kosher salt (salted like the ocean as you would for pasta – about 1 tablespoon) for 15 minutes, covered. They should be tender to the touch with a fork when done. Then place the schnitzels into a cold bath so the temperature drops and you can handle them.
2. Meanwhile, set up the breading station with two large plates and one large bowl for the egg or plant-based milk. Fill the first plate with the flour, pepper, and a pinch of kosher salt. Place the egg or plant-based milk in a bowl and cover the second plate with the matzo meal or breadcrumbs.
3. Once the stations are ready and the schnitzel slices are in the cold water, start heating up the vegetable oil. Fill it up to about a ¼-inch high in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Try to keep the temperature around 350°F or 180°C.
4. While the oil is heating up, start dipping the schnitzel first in the flour, then the egg or plant-based milk, and then the matzo meal. Place the schnitzel on a separate large plate to rest until the oil is hot enough. Using tongs or a spatula, carefully pick the schnitzel up and place it in the oil. Fry for about 2-3 minutes each side until they’re golden brown, like latkes. Use tongs to carefully turn the schnitzel over to avoid splashing hot oil.
5. Meanwhile, place a paper towel over a plate. When the schnitzel is ready, use tongs to move the schnitzel to the paper towel to soak up excess oil. Serve on a small plate with a sprinkling of kosher salt and a healthy dollop of homemade jam.

Quick-and-Easy Homemade Jam

This is a simple, mixed berry jam I make with frozen fruit, chia seeds, and honey to top on my celery root schnitzel. But jam is jam, so you can use this on anything from breakfast toast to sweetening up a bowl of oatmeal.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups of frozen berry mix
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 2 tablespoons honey

PREPARATION

1. Add frozen berries, chia seeds, and honey to a small sauce pan over medium-high heat.
2. Stir and mix the ingredients frequently to ensure they don’t burn.
3. Continue until the frozen fruit emulsifies and everything is incorporated. Remove from heat, serve warm, and store in a refrigerator.