Vegan Florentine Grilled Celeriac Steak, Reinterpreted | Bistecca Vegana di Sedano Rapa alla Fiorentina Rivisitata
The bistecca alla fiorentina is the most famous grilled dish of Tuscany: a very thick cut, charred over embers, salted at the end and carved at the table. The Florentine original is a thick bone-in cut of Chianina beef; this vegan version is a reinterpretation that keeps the ritual and the technique and changes the protagonist: thick slabs cut from the heart of the celeriac, poached first in a rosemary and garlic broth until tender, then seared over a very hot grill until the surface is striped, smoky and caramelized. Served with the classic Florentine side of cannellini beans dressed in olive oil, it is a serious main course, built on the same principles as the original: a thick cut, intense heat, coarse salt, great olive oil and nothing that hides the taste of the fire.
Yield: 4 servings. Prep: 30 minutes. Cook: 1 hour 15 minutes, plus the beans. Rest: 15 minutes. Course: secondo piatto. Region: Tuscany.
The Story
The bistecca alla fiorentina comes from Florence and from the valleys of Tuscany where the great white cattle of the Chianina breed have grazed for centuries, in the Val di Chiana between Arezzo and Siena. The traditional cut is very thick, at least two fingers, taken with the bone from the loin, and it is cooked in a way that has hardly changed: over the embers of oak or olive wood, a few minutes per side, then stood upright on the bone to finish, and served rare at the center. Salt goes on at the end, with a thread of Tuscan olive oil. Florentines still argue about lemon, which many consider an offense.
Tradition ties the name to the feast of San Lorenzo, on August 10, when the Medici family had great bonfires lit in the city and meat was roasted and given to the people. English travelers present at the feast are said to have called for "beefsteak", and the Florentines turned the word into bistecca. The story cannot be proven, but it says something true: the dish has always belonged to feasts, to large tables and to the shared pleasure of cooking over fire.
Celeriac, sedano rapa in Italian, is the swollen root of a variety of celery. It is grown above all in northern Italy, in the cool plains of Veneto, Lombardy and Emilia, and it has a long life in Italian winter cooking: in soups, in purées and raw in salads. It is not a Florentine ingredient, and this recipe does not pretend it is: the dish is a reinterpretation, a bistecca rivisitata, not the Florentine original, which is always beef. It was chosen for its structure: dense, fine grained and firm enough to be cut into thick slabs that hold their shape on the grill, with a sweet, nutty taste that turns smoky and deeply savory under a strong flame.
The Florentine bistecca is a lesson in restraint, and so is this dish. The original has no marinade and no sauce; the quality of the cut, the heat of the embers and the salt do all the work. Here the celeriac is first poached in a broth flavored with rosemary, garlic and bay, so it becomes tender to the center and absorbs a gentle savory note, and only then meets the fire. Served with the cannellini beans all'olio that accompany the bistecca in every Florentine trattoria, it keeps the tradition of the table and adds the precision needed to turn a root into a steak.
Ingredients
Choose heavy, firm celeriac roots of about 2 lb (900 g) each, with smooth skin and no soft spots or hollow center: tap the root, and a dull, solid sound means a dense heart. Only the central slices make true steaks, so buy two large roots for four servings and keep the trimmings for a soup or purée. Use dried cannellini beans if you can, cooked slowly with sage, and choose a peppery Tuscan extra virgin olive oil, such as Toscano IGP or Chianti Classico DOP, for finishing both the steaks and the beans. Coarse sea salt is essential: the crunch of the crystals on the hot surface is part of the dish.
For the celeriac steaks
Celeriac, 2 large roots, about 2 lb (900 g) each
Water, 3 quarts (2.8 l)
Fine sea salt, 2 tbsp (36 g)
Garlic, 4 cloves, crushed
Fresh rosemary, 3 sprigs
Bay leaves, 2
Black peppercorns, 1 tsp (3 g)
Extra virgin olive oil, for grilling, 3 tbsp (45 ml)
For the rosemary oil
Extra virgin olive oil, peppery, 1/2 cup (120 ml)
Fresh rosemary, 2 sprigs
Garlic, 2 cloves, peeled and halved
Lemon zest, 1 strip
For the cannellini all'olio
Dried cannellini beans, 8 oz (225 g), soaked for 12 hours
Fresh sage leaves, 6
Garlic, 2 cloves, unpeeled
Fine sea salt, 1 tsp (6 g), added at the end of cooking
Extra virgin olive oil, 3 tbsp (45 ml)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
To finish
Coarse sea salt or flaky salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Lemon, cut into wedges, optional
Arugula, 2 oz (60 g)
Preparation
Step 1
Cook the cannellini. Drain the soaked beans and put them in a pot with 2 quarts (1.9 l) of cold water, the sage and the unpeeled garlic. Bring them to a bare simmer, skim, and cook with the lid ajar for 60 to 80 minutes, until creamy to the center. Add the salt in the last 10 minutes and let the beans cool in their liquid. A gentle simmer keeps the skins whole, and cooling in the liquid lets them absorb it and stay tender. In Florence this is the classic side of the bistecca, and it can be cooked a day ahead.
Step 2
Infuse the rosemary oil. Warm the olive oil with the rosemary, garlic and lemon zest in a small saucepan over the lowest heat to about 160°F (70°C), hold it there for 5 minutes, then take it off the heat and infuse for 30 minutes. Strain. Gentle heat extracts the aromatic oils of the rosemary and garlic without frying them; above 250°F (120°C) the needles turn bitter. This oil is used to brush the steaks on the grill and to finish the plate.
Step 3
Cut the steaks. Cut a thin slice from the top and bottom of each celeriac so it stands flat, then remove the skin with a sharp knife, following the curve and cutting deep enough to remove all the brown, knotty layer. Cut two slabs from the widest central part of each root, each 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) thick. Keep the trimmings for another use. Thickness is everything: thinner slices cook through before they char and turn soft, while a thick slab can take a hard sear outside and stay juicy and firm inside, exactly like the original cut.
Step 4
Poach the steaks. Bring the water to a boil with the salt, crushed garlic, rosemary, bay and peppercorns, then lower it to a gentle simmer at about 195°F (90°C). Slide in the celeriac steaks and poach them for 20 to 25 minutes, until a thin skewer passes through the center with only slight resistance. Lift them out carefully with a slotted spatula and lay them on a rack. The salted, aromatic water seasons the celeriac to the center, as a brine would; poaching below a full boil keeps the slabs whole instead of breaking their edges.
Step 5
Dry and rest the steaks. Leave the steaks on the rack for 15 minutes, until the surface looks dry and matte, then pat them with paper towels. A dry surface is the condition for a good sear: any water on the celeriac must evaporate before the surface can brown, and a wet steak steams on the grill and stays pale. Brush both sides lightly with olive oil just before grilling.
Step 6
Grill over high heat. Heat a charcoal grill until the embers are covered with white ash, or a heavy ridged cast iron grill pan over high heat for at least 5 minutes, until it smokes lightly. Lay the steaks on the grill and do not move them for 4 to 5 minutes, until deep brown grill marks form. Turn them 90 degrees for crossed marks and cook 2 minutes more, then flip and repeat on the other side. Brush with rosemary oil after each turn. The high heat caramelizes the natural sugars of the celeriac and creates the smoky, savory crust; moving the steaks too early tears the surface and prevents the marks.
Step 7
Stand, season and rest. As the Florentine cut is stood on its bone to finish, stand each steak on its edge for 1 minute to sear the sides. Move the steaks to a warm board, season them at once with coarse salt and black pepper and brush them again with rosemary oil. Rest them for 3 minutes. Meanwhile warm the beans in a little of their liquid, drain them, and dress them with olive oil and pepper. Salting at the end, as in Florence, keeps the crystals crunchy on the hot surface instead of dissolving them into the crust.
Plating
Warm the plates to about 140°F (60°C). Carve each steak at the table or on the pass into thick strips, about 3/4 inch (2 cm), cutting slightly on the bias, and reassemble it on the plate so the guest sees both the charred crust and the pale, juicy center. Set a generous spoonful of cannellini all'olio beside it and a small handful of arugula dressed only with a drop of olive oil.
Finish the steak with a thread of rosemary oil, a few more crystals of coarse salt and a turn of pepper. Offer lemon wedges on the side for those who want them, in the spirit of the Florentine debate. The guest eats it with a steak knife: each bite should carry the smoky crust, the tender, nutty center and the green, peppery oil.
Professional Technique
The key number is the thickness: 1 1/2 inches (4 cm). At this thickness the poaching brings the center to tender in about 20 minutes, and the grill can work for 12 minutes in total on the outside without overcooking the inside. Thinner slabs turn mushy after poaching and break on the grill; thicker ones need too long in the water and absorb too much of it.
The hidden variable is the poaching temperature. A rolling boil cracks the edges of the slabs and waterlogs the outer layer, which then cannot brown. Keep the water at a gentle simmer, around 195°F (90°C), and lift the steaks out as soon as the skewer meets only slight resistance at the center: they keep cooking a little on the rack and on the grill.
The doneness test is double. After poaching, the skewer must pass through the center with slight resistance, like a cooked potato that still holds its shape. After grilling, the surface must show deep, almost black stripes and a golden brown between them, and the steak must feel hot to the center when pressed with a fingertip.
Heat and Crust Control
The crust is the heart of this dish, and it depends on three things: a dry surface, a thin film of oil and very high heat. Celeriac contains natural sugars that caramelize quickly, and its surface proteins brown through the Maillard reaction above about 300°F (150°C). On a cool grill the sugars only soften and the steaks taste boiled; on a very hot grill they caramelize in minutes and give the smoky, savory flavor that recalls meat cooked over embers.
Oil is the conductor between the grill and the steak, but too much of it drips, flares and leaves a sooty taste. Brush a thin film on the steaks, not on the grill, and add the rosemary oil only after each turn, when the surface has already set. The garlic in the rosemary oil has been strained out, so it cannot burn on the bars.
Rest is the last control. Three minutes on a warm board let the heat even out between the hot crust and the cooler center, and let the surface oil and salt settle. Carved at once, the steaks lose their juices on the board; rested too long, the crust softens. Carve and serve within 5 minutes.
Professional Mise en Place
In service, the celeriac is poached and dried in advance, so only the grilling happens to order. Grill the steaks in batches that fit without crowding, and keep the beans warm in their liquid until the last moment.
Equipment and tools
Sharp chef's knife and cutting board, paring knife
Large pot for poaching, slotted spatula, thin skewer, cooling rack
Charcoal grill or heavy ridged cast iron grill pan, long tongs, pastry brush
Small saucepan and fine strainer for the rosemary oil, carving board
Prepared ahead
Cannellini cooked and cooled in their liquid, up to 2 days ahead
Rosemary oil infused and strained, up to 2 days ahead
Celeriac steaks poached, dried and refrigerated, up to 1 day ahead; bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before grilling
Celeriac trimmings kept for soup or purée
Service setup
Grill preheated to very high heat, oil and brush beside it
Plates warmed to about 140°F (60°C), carving board and knife on the pass
Beans warm in a small pan, olive oil and pepper mill ready
Coarse salt, rosemary oil in a jug, lemon wedges and dressed arugula
Chef Tips
Poach the steaks a day ahead. Cold poached celeriac is firmer and easier to handle on the grill, and the surface dries better in the refrigerator, uncovered, on a rack. Take the steaks out 30 minutes before grilling so the center is not cold.
If you grill over charcoal, add a few sprigs of dry rosemary or a handful of soaked olive wood chips to the embers in the last minutes. The aromatic smoke deepens the flavor without adding anything to the plate, and it recalls the wood fire used for the original.
Keep the poaching broth. Strained, it is a light, aromatic vegetable broth with a pronounced celery flavor, excellent for a risotto, a soup of the celeriac trimmings or for warming the cannellini.
For a richer sauce, crush half of the warm cannellini with a fork, loosen them with some cooking liquid and olive oil, and spread a spoonful under the carved steak. The creamy beans act as a sauce and catch the rosemary oil.
Common Mistakes
Cutting thin slices. Thin celeriac slices turn soft and break on the grill. Cut slabs 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) thick from the center of the root.
Leaving part of the skin. The brown, knotty outer layer stays woody even after poaching. Peel deeply, following the curve of the root.
Grilling it raw. Raw celeriac this thick burns outside before the center is cooked. Poach it first until tender to the center.
Boiling hard. A violent boil breaks the edges and waterlogs the slabs. Poach at a gentle simmer.
Grilling wet steaks. Water on the surface turns the sear into steaming. Dry the steaks on a rack and pat them before oiling.
Moving them too soon. Steaks moved before the crust forms stick and tear. Leave them still for 4 to 5 minutes before turning.
Salting too early. Salt dissolves on the grill and draws out moisture. Salt at the end, as in Florence, with coarse crystals.
Wine Pairing
Brunello di Montalcino DOCG: Pure Sangiovese from the hills of Montalcino, with ripe cherry, dried herbs, leather and long, firm tannins. Its depth stands up to the charred, smoky crust, and its savory finish matches the rosemary oil. Serve it at about 62-65°F (17-18°C), after an hour of air.
Chianti Rufina DOCG: From the cooler hills northeast of Florence, a Sangiovese with bright acidity, red fruit and a fine, mineral structure. Its freshness cuts the olive oil of the beans and lifts the sweet, nutty taste of the celeriac. Serve it at about 60-62°F (16-17°C).
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG: From Montepulciano, on the edge of the Val di Chiana, the valley of the Chianina cattle, a Sangiovese with plum, violet and soft spice. Its rounded tannins suit a vegetable steak that has less fat than the original. Serve it at about 61-64°F (16-18°C).
Romagna Sangiovese DOC: The Sangiovese of neighboring Romagna, juicy and direct, with red cherry and a light, fresh finish. It is the easiest choice for a grilled dish at a long table, and it does not overwhelm the beans. Serve it at about 59-61°F (15-16°C).
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerator: poached, ungrilled celeriac steaks keep for up to 3 days, covered. Grilled steaks keep for 2 days but lose their crisp crust. The cannellini keep for 4 days in their liquid. Freezer: not recommended for the steaks, because freezing ruptures the cells of the celeriac and it thaws soft and watery. The cooked beans freeze well in their liquid for up to 3 months.
Reheat grilled steaks in the oven at 400°F (200°C) on a rack for 8 to 10 minutes, then sear them for 1 minute per side in a very hot pan to restore the crust. Avoid the microwave, which softens the surface completely. Warm the beans gently in a little of their liquid over low heat, then drain and dress them again with fresh olive oil.
Nutrition
Per serving, based on 4 servings:
Calories: 480 kcal
Total Fat: 27 g
Saturated Fat: 4 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Unsaturated Fat: 23 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 890 mg
Total Carbohydrates: 48 g
Fiber: 15 g
Total Sugars: 7 g
Added Sugars: 0 g
Protein: 16 g
Principal micronutrients: vitamin K, phosphorus, potassium, folate, iron, vitamin C, manganese
These figures are estimates, calculated on the quantities listed and rounded to the nearest whole number, assuming that only part of the poaching salt is absorbed and that about half of the rosemary oil is served. They vary with the size of the celeriac and the amount of oil used at the table.
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