My mother did not want me to come to the US. The year was 2002. I had recently graduated from college and returned home for a visit. I was at an age where we understood each other more than ever. I was her only child and we were each other’s best friend. Coming to the US was the hardest decision I ever made in my life.
On one hand, I was excited about my journey to America and what the future had in store, yet I felt guilty leaving her behind. The day before I left, we had a long conversation and she told me that if I ever felt I was not wanted or unhappy, I should immediately come home.
The journey from Istanbul was long, but the moment I set foot in New York City, I knew my life had changed forever. I was mesmerized with almost everything; tall buildings, crowded streets, beautiful stores, and all kinds of food and people. It was a whole new world that I had only seen in movies. Years went by feeling this way. I never got tired of what this country had to offer me and its people. It would be a lie if I told you that I didn’t have tough times. Believe me, I had my share of visa issues. However, I never felt I was not wanted or out of place. To me, the beauty of America was that life was hard for everyone, but we were all in this together. I always found someone to offer me a helping hand when needed. In the last 15 years, I made some of the best friendships of my life in this country. More importantly, I met the love of my life and married him here.
So I think you can understand why I am so baffled with everything that has happened in the last few weeks. I do not want this blog to be a place where I talk about my political views because I understand that we may have a difference of opinion and I am not here to expose you to my views. However, as an immigrant who has always felt welcomed, it saddens me to see a group of people banned entrance into the country because of their beliefs, especially after everything they had been through. I know America is better than this.
With the hopes of lightening the mood, today I am sharing my mother’s one-pot winter root vegetable dish. If you have been following me for a while, you know I believe in the healing power of food. I also believe that food makes us all come together, set aside our differences, and enjoy each other’s tastes and company.
About this One-Pot Citrusy Winter Root Vegetables Recipe:
If I were to translate the name of this dish from Turkish to English, it would be something like celery root cooked in olive oil. Growing up, it was a wintertime staple in our house. As the name suggests, winter’s popular root vegetables; celery root, potatoes, and carrots, are placed in a large pot, drizzled with olive oil and freshly squeezed orange juice and cooked until the vegetables are tender. Some people use lemon juice instead of orange juice, but I personally prefer orange juice because it is sweeter and I think it pairs beautifully with celery root. Plus, as you can see in the photos, I was able to get my hands on the sweetest pink Cara Cara oranges, which are my absolute favorite fruit ever.
During my childhood, my mother would make this on a Sunday and we’d eat it cold as a salad or a side dish throughout the week. After I married my American husband and served him this dish as my mother did, I learned that eating cold root vegetables even as a side dish could be a foreign concept for some people. If you feel the same way, feel free to warm it up in the microwave for a few minutes before serving.
I wrote this blog post as a part of a bloggers initiative, where we all shared our own #immigrantfoodstories. Below you will find a few of my favorite bloggers’ posts on the subject:
Honestly Yum: Lu Dan (Soy Eggs)
The Year In Food: Winter Squash Fritters
Eat This Poem: Immigrant Picnic
Floating Kitchen: Armenian Bulgur Parsley and Tomato Salad
Brooklyn Supper: Spelt Crust Apple Pandowdy
Kale & Caramel: Fatteh with Cumin Chickpeas & Tahini Yogurt
Fix Feast Flair: Beef Teriyaki
The Crepes of Wrath: Polish Apple Pie
One-Pot Citrusy Winter Root Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 2 medium-sized celery root, also called celeriac, (1 ½- 2 pounds in total) – peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 medium-sized potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
- ½ cup orange juice, freshly squeezed
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
- ¼ cup fresh dill, rinsed and coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Place the onion, garlic, celery root, potato, and carrot in a large pan with a lid.
- Drizzle it with the orange juice and olive oil. Stir in the sugar, salt, and pepper. Give it a large stir.
- Cover and cook over medium heat for 20-25 minutes or until the celeriac and potatoes are cooked through.
- Stir in the peas and cook for another 5-6 minutes.
- Taste for seasoning and add in if necessary.
- Garnish it with fresh dill.
- You can serve this dish immediately or let it come to room temperature and store in an airtight container in the fridge and serve cold as a side dish for the next 2-3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Dear Ice,
Thank you for your nice story. I cooked it last night and I really love the use of orange juice in this dish.
Thanks Benny. Happy to hear that you enjoyed it.
P.S. I am very intrigued about this dish! Loving the idea of orange juice!
Yassss! Orange juice is the best part 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing your story! I can’t imagine the US without immigrants, isn’t that what we all are anyways? It must have been so hard to leave your mom, thank goodness for Skype. We are lucky to have you here and I have loved getting to know you! xO
So true. Thank you for your kind words.
Yes, it was difficult, but she was happy for me as she saw how happy I was when she came to visit me. I hope she still feels the same and watching over me from wherever she is.
I do love getting to know you as well. Meeting people like you is one of my favorite thing about blogging.
Much love and hugs my friend. <3
This is the kind of recipe that you appreciate when you get older (my mom did this too and i wasn’t a fan when i was a child haha).
I know, right? It was my favorite growing up. Any zeytinyagli yemek was so big in our house.
I wish you are doing well Alp.
Sending you much love from the States.
Beautifully written post Aysegul! I totally understand and can relate to each and every word you say here. My mom and I were best friends, and she was the most saddened when I left to come to the US 17 years ago. I will complete 18 this year. You articulated your thoughts really well.beautiful dish from your mom, I love the use of orange juice in this dish! Cheers 🙂
Thank you so much Amisha.. I am sure it was no easier for you to live your beautiful country. I’d love to hear your story as well.
The orange juice is the secret ingredient in this recipe. It goes so well with the celery root. I hope you will get a chance to try it sometime.
Cheers! <3
Thank you for sharing your story with us, Aysegul. I’m so glad you made your way to America despite the challenges you faced and difficulty in deciding to leave your home country. I’m so happy for you and how your life has evolved. In light of the decisions being made by the new administration, stories like your’s and the other bloggers who are sharing, are important ones that need to be told.. woven into the fabric of what/who we understand an immigrant is (if we’re not lucky enough to know one) as opposed to believe the rhetoric we’ve been told recently about immigrants. Thank you for sharing your mom’s recipe. It makes me even more resolved to roast up some celeriac – try something new. I’m so happy to know you and to get to know you. Thank your courage in sharing. Sending a virtual hug, Aysegul. xo
Aww Traci, you are so sweet. I love meeting you too through this crazy thing called blogging. You are one of the kindest people I met in the US. It makes me so happy to hear that my story resonated with you. I felt as though I needed to speak up and share my experience and appreciation toward the people I met in this country through the years. I hope with these stories, people will remember what this country is made of and will continue to embrace diversity, even while they are being told otherwise.
I hope you will try this recipe as I think it is a true Mediterranean treat.
Much love and hugs beautiful person. <3
I love reading the short summary of your life story after graduation. I can understand how you felt when making that hard decision about being an immigrant. I can only imagine how hard it was for you to settle down. It’s good though that you don’t regret it.
And this celeriac recipe is one of my favourites, oh and our three year old son’s. He loves it more when I add some rice into it, just like we do when making similar dish with leek.
I always find it funny that Gokturk loves veggies. He is the nicest kid ever. <3
I did get lucky with living in the US. I hope it continues to be this way, especially now in our new hometown.
Much love and hugs to you my friend.