Beef Roulade with Celeriac Puree – Make your table warm and inviting on a chilly day with this elegant, rich, seasonal recipe complete with some wise words for hosts and hostesses alike.
Yes, I know it’s the time of year when people start becoming turkey-crazed maniacs, but amongst all of the turkey waddles, gobbling, and wobbling, I’m in the mood for beef… Maybe it’s because I can’t imagine eating the adorable turkey at my CSA. And perhaps it’s because my son is so obsessed with getting him to go “gobble, gobble, gobble” that he runs up and down his fence line until the poor thing is throughly upset. Hasn’t he suffered enough? Truth be told, I’ll be eating turkey on November 26th without shame. It’s just that the months of November and December put me in the mood for leisurely, rich, and elegant meals around the table with loved ones.
Today’s recipe for beef roulade with celeriac puree is one that I’ve been sitting on for quite some time now. Celeriac recently became available at my local farm and I couldn’t wait to make this recipe and share it with you! Usually I write recipes with the main attraction first in mind – flank steak in this case – and then build the rest of the recipe around it. For this one, the opposite was true. I just knew I needed something amazing to pair with this lovely celeriac puree. After playing with a few recipes I settled on a beef roulade stuffed with greens and sun-dried tomatoes. It’s a pretty recipe, with savory swirls smothered in fluffy celeriac clouds and a brown gravy. Rich and elegant, just the way I like it.
The pretty swirls are sure to impress whoever you’re cooking for. This is achieved by butterflying your flank steak, tenderizing it, rolling it up like a jelly roll, and then tying it with a butcher’s knot. The thought of making a roulade out of meat might be intimidating for the novice home cook, so if you’re feeling a little unsure, check out my post on How to Cut and Tie a Pork Tenderloin for an explanation of the butcher’s knot. Tenderloin is a different cut of meat, which is cut in a swirl instead of being butterflied, but the same principles apply.
Even if your roulade doesn’t turn out as perfectly as you’d like, don’t stress about it. It will still taste amazing. Besides, isn’t this time of year about enjoying those you love, and not about a perfect presentation? As Ted Allen of TV’s Chopped says:
Planning a dinner party in a way that you’re actually capable of getting it done without panicking is important. It’s bad hospitality for the host to be freaked out.
And I love these words from etiquette expert Maralee McKee:
The ornaments of your home are the people who smile upon entering time and time again.
- 1½ lbs flank steak
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 C diced shallots
- ½ lb baby tatsoi or spinach
- ⅓ C diced sun-dried tomatoes
- 1½ Tbsp olive oil
- salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- 2½ lbs celeriac
- ⅓ C light cream
- 1 Tbsp butter
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1½ C beef broth
- 2 Tbsp corn starch
- Butterfly your flank steak with the grain running parallel to your stabilizing hand, which means you'll be cutting with the grain.
- Once it's flat, gently tenderize it with the smooth end of a mallet. Set aside.
- In an uncoated pan or a cast iron skillet, melt 1 Tbsp of butter over medium-low heat. Add the diced shallots to the pan and cook until they begin to soften. Add baby tatsoi or spinach next, and cook until wilted and all of the water from the greens has cooked off.
- Remove from the heat and mix in diced sun-dried tomatoes, and add fresh cracked pepper to taste.
- Spoon the cooked vegetables in the center of your piece of flank steak and evenly spread out, leaving a ¼ in border around the perimeter of the meat.
- Tightly roll the flank steak with the grain and then tie using a butcher's knot. Season with salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.
- Add 1½ Tbsp of oil to your pan that you cooked the vegetables in, and heat over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the flank steak and sear or brown on each side.
- Place your pan in an oven that has been preheated to 350ºF. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until your roulade reaches an internal temperature of 125ºF at the center.
- Allow the cooked roulade to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before cutting. Just before serving, slice the roulade against the grain into ¼ in medallions.
- Wash off your celeriac (aka celery root) and individually wrap each in foil. Place them on a baking sheet and in an oven that's been preheated to 350ºF. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the celeriac feels mushy when you squeeze it with an oven mitt.
- Allow the celeriac to become cool enough to handle and then cut it in half. Scoop out the soft center, place it in a medium mixing bowl, and then discard the skin.
- Add butter and light cream to the bowl. Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth and creamy. If you don't have an immersion blender, this can be done in a regular blender.
- While the beef roulade is resting, take the dirty pan that it was cooked in and heat it over a burner on medium heat.
- Whisk together the beef broth and cornstarch in a small bowl using a heat-safe whisk.
- Once the pan is hot, pour the beef broth and cornstarch mixture into the pan and begin scraping the whisk along the bottom of the pan. This will pull up the drippings from your roulade and add awesome flavor to your gravy. Continue to stir frequently until the sauce is bubbling and thickened, then remove from the heat.
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Thanks so much!
This is such a beautiful presentation, so very fancy!! You had me at celeriac puree… the fact that the roulade looks amazing is icing on the cake!!
Thanks Michele! Celeriac puree is just so lovely, isn’t it? When I go out to eat I get excited when I see it on the menu.
Rachel this is a great recipe fit for a beautiful family meal. I am a meat lover and beef is one of my favourite protein. And I can’t describe how delicious this recipe looks and how each ingredients compliments each other. It is simply beautiful! and ohhhh that gravy…yum
Thanks Dalia! You’re so sweet! I love beef too. I try to moderate how much of it I east, so when I eat it I try to make it count!
I couldn’t pin this recipe fast enough – this looks/sounds incredible and the pictures are beautiful!
Thanks so much for pinning Sarah!
Simply amazing! What a wonderful recipe. Your pictures are beautiful.
Thanks Tina!
That is just lovely! I think that I want that for Christmas rather than turkey!
Thanks Helen. My side of the family almost has beef on Christmas, and my husband’s eats turkey. It’s fun how different families have different traditions!
Amazing photos and I just love those plates. I have been meaning to make celeriac puree for ages… I don’t know why I haven’t managed yet.
I’m feeling happy that you noticed my plates. They’re an heirloom from my great grandmother 🙂
Another great recipe from you!! Looks lovely, delicious and the presentation is stunning! I can have this for dinner! 🙂
Thanks Neli! You’re so sweet!
This looks so elegant and cooked to perfection. I really like the celeriac and it is nice to have a recipe that uses it. Lovely photos too!
Thanks Stacey. I love celeriac! I feel like it’s one of those vegetables that doesn’t get enough love.
I absolutely LOVE celery root pureé…and I don’t know why I have such a hard time finding celery root here. It goes so great with beef…and your beef dish (and photos) look awesome.
I’m surprised there isn’t celery root in plenty up in Canada. It’s one of those cold weather veggies that I think would do well up towards the north. But come to think of it, it’s hit or miss with celery root at grocery stores in my area too. I was lucky enough to get my supply from my CSA. I’ve seen it at higher end grocery stores.
This Beef Roulade looks perfectly moist and scrumptious! Looks elegant and perfect for company!
Thanks!
I love that you built your meal around a side dish. Celeriac – now that’s a new one I’ll have to try!
Celeriac is certainly worth a try! If you do, I’d love to hear about it!
Gorgeous pictures – I don’t eat beef often but your pictures are making me wanna climb into my screen! I need to start looking for some celeriac as your puree looks so creamy – the perfect next for that beef roulade!
lol! Thanks Shashi! I honestly don’t eat been much either, but when I do I try to make it count 😉
I’ve never tried celeriac puree, but this combo sounds incredible!
Thanks Claudia! Celeriac is pretty awesome vegetable, that is little known. I hope you get to give it a try sometime!
This is so lovely and elegant. I can certainly see this as the centerpiece of a dinner party! Thanks for including all the help with the recipe!
Thanks for taking the time to read my recipe Diane. This recipe is a little tougher than some, so I tried to make it approachable to people at all levels of cooking experience.
What a beautiful dish, perfect for the holidays!
Thanks Joy!
Wow Rachel this looks superb, the flank steak looks perfectly cooked and I’m a sucker for celeriac!
Brian, I’m so happy you noticed how I cooked my meat. I have a thing against over cooked meat. You’re a fabulous cook, so I’m guessing that you share my sentiments!
This looks simply delicious! I am a huge fan of celeriac, I need to use it more often. Love the idea of a beef roulade – so elegantly done.
Thanks Donna! Celeriac is totally underrated!
Such beautiful presented dish! That beef is so juicy! Would love a couple of slices right now!
Thanks Oana!
Gorgeous beef roulade, Rachel. I would love this on my dinner plate any day of the week! It would be a beautiful presentation on Christmas Eve.