Gluten Free Celery Root Creamy Pasta Bake

January 22, 2014 by FriendlyGlutenFreeFoods 4 Comments

Celery root or celeriac is a starchy vegetable that I received in my produce box and was at a loss as to what to make with it. I’ve heard of mashed potatoes with celeriac so that’s where my recipe inspiration search started. I ended up making a celery root pasta bake. As a dairy free person (typically) it’s a treat to eat a “creamy” pasta! Though not as creamy as a real alfredo or fontina pasta bake, the spices make it heavenly.

Gluten Free Celery Root “Creamy” Pasta Bake

• 3 single handfuls of dry Gluten Free Rigatoni pasta or other gluten free pasta (about 1.5 cups dry)
• 3 cups whole milk*, divided
•  1 cups water
• Sea salt
• 1 medium celery root, peeled, cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1/2 medium onion or 2 shallots, diced
• 5 tablespoons butter or butter substitute, cut into 6 pieces
• 1 tablespoons corn starch
• Ground white and black pepper mixed
• 2 teaspoon mixture of oregano, basil, parsley, thyme and rosemary, or 1 teaspoon Herb de Provence
• 3/4 cup shredded or freshly grated non-dairy Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded non-dairy mozzarella cheese
• 1/8 – 1/4 cup gluten free italian bread crumbs

1. Bring 2 cups milk, water and salt just to boil in heavy saucepan over high heat. Add celery root cubes; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain, discard cooking liquid.
2. Combine celery root and 2 tablespoons butter in a food processor; puree until smooth. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Set aside.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a pan, add herb mixture, sauté for 2 minutes and then add diced onion.
4. Sauté until softened and just start to brown; transfer onions and spices to food processor with celery root; blend celery root, onion and spices;
5. Add 8 oz cold water to corn starch in a small container; whisk until smooth;
6. Place pasta in a large pot with boiling water, cook for 10 minutes or until el dante.
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. F. Spray a casserole or glass 7 x 10 baking dish with non-stick spray.
8. Return empty sauté pan to medium low heat; lightly melt 1 tablespoon butter to pan; stir in corn starch mixture into pan to make a smooth paste; Slowly add remaining 1 cup milk.
9. Simmer on a low heat stirring or whisking all the time until sauce thickens, about 5 to 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove sauce from the stove, add the parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
10. Add the pureed celery root; stir quickly and well. Keep warm.
11. Drain pasta and immediately add to the cheese and celery root mixture. Mix well and then pour into prepared baking dish. Spread evenly, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bread crumbs.
12. Dot with pieces of the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. (At this point, you might cool the whole dish, then chill it and bake it later or even freeze up to 3-4 days).
13. When ready to bake; place on the middle rack of the oven; bake for about 45 minutes until bubbly and the top is golden brown. Serve hot.

*If you try this with a non-dairy milk, let me know what you thought of it. I made it with whole milk because I had a guest who doesn’t drink non-dairy milk and it needed to be used up.

The inspiration recipe