A tasty, left-of-field, winter-friendly combo: Alice Zaslavsky’s tacos with charred celeriac wedges and pickled-jalapeño sauce. Stylisti and food prep: Madeleine Dobbins. Photograph: Eugene Hyland/The Guardian View image in fullscreen A tasty, left-of-field, winter-friendly combo: Alice Zaslavsky’s tacos with charred celeriac wedges and pickled-jalapeño sauce. Stylisti and food prep: Madeleine Dobbins. Photograph: Eugene Hyland/The Guardian You've got this Australian food and drink Alice Zaslavsky’s tacos with roasted celeriac and pickled jalapeño sauce – recipe Gnarly, shrivelly celeriac is an unconventional taco filler. But peeled and roasted in Alice Zaslavsky ’s recipe, the root vegetable yields an almost carne asada-like flavour
Alice Zaslavsky Wed 24 Jun 2026 17.00 CEST Last modified on Thu 25 Jun 2026 05.00 CEST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google C ould it be time to consider the celeriac? If you’re looking for a tasty and left-of-field taco combo for the cooler months that’s full of flavour, low on cost and easily veganised, then it just well might.
Celeriac is firm and fibrous enough to hold its shape under heat, sweet enough to crack some caramelisation, and its centre yields to a creamy and fluffy mashed potato texture when cooked. The flavour is surprisingly meaty, which makes more sense when you consider how the parsley and liquorice notes intensify when caramelised, a bit like a bite of steak with herby sauce, or carne asada with salsa verde.
View image in fullscreen ‘To me, celeriac looks like the baby from Eraserhead … I can’t tell you how delicious they are as the hero in a soft taco.’ Photograph: Eugene Hyland/The Guardian To me, celeriac looks like the baby from Eraserhead. What it lacks in symmetry, it makes up for in shrivelly-ness, which can feel intimidating if “bag of medium carrots” is normally your speed.
Read more The major barrier of a celeriac is the skin, which I would usually leave on for roasting whole , soaking first to dislodge any dirt. However, if you’re planning on wedging, it’s better peeled, pre-roast. Use a chef’s knife rather than a peeler, and treat it like an orange you’re about to segment: slice off the top and base for purchase, then cut off anything pockmarked until you reveal the pale flesh underneath.
Some recipes will suggest parboiling the celeriac, then finishing by roasting or pan-frying. But for me, that’s a bit faffy for midweek. Instead I’d start by roasting the segments under foil, on a preheated tray, so the celeriac can steam and soften, then finish with a blast of heat, uncovered, to get some gnarly burnish. Leftover wedges last really well in the fridge and can be served as you would roast spuds with tomorrow’s dinner, or tossed through a leafy salad for lunch.
View image in fullscreen ‘The flavour is surprisingly meaty … a bit like a bite of steak with herby sauce.’ Composite: Eugene Hyland/The Guardian View image in fullscreen Leftover wedges of roast celeriac make excellent leftovers. Photograph: Eugene Hyland/The Guardian I can’t tell you how delicious they are as the hero in a soft taco, teamed with a tangy sauce using jarred jalapeños and their brine. You can decide how spicy you want it, but I’ve let this recipe walk on the mild side – a hum of heat rather than a blast.
The manchego cheese is not a must-have, so if you’d prefer to serve yours fully vegan, swap for a hard plant-based cheese, or leave it out altogether; switch the sour cream for Tofutti, and f…