Broiled Celery Root Remoulade
“Kimchi” Salad
Caldo Verde
Mashed Parsnips, Carrots, Potatoes and/or Celery Root
Parsnip and Parsley Hash with Lemon
Roasted Winter Squash with Spicy Yogurt Sauce and Cilantro
Lentil Soup (with Carrots and Potatoes)
Broiled Celery Root Remoulade
This is a delicious variation of the classic French Celery Root Remoulade which is prepared with julienned, raw celery root. Here you parboil the celery root and then finish it under the broiler before drizzling it with the wonderfully creamy and tangy remoulade.
Serves 4
1 medium celery root, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 1 /2 tablespoons olive oil
Dressing:
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup whole milk regular or Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
A little white wine or cider vinegar, optional
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons chopped, fresh parsley
Set oven to broil.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add 2 teaspoon salt and the celery root. Return to a boil and cook for 5-7 minutes until just tender. Drain very well. Spread the celery root on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat and spread into a single layer. Broil, turning to ensure even browning, until just beginning to crisp and color.
Put celery root in a serving dish and drizzle with dressing and top with parsley. Serve with additional dressing, warm or at room temperature.
“Kimchi” Salad
This dish uses many of the fermented Korean cabbage dish ingredients but without the fermentation. Napa cabbage is traditionally used to make kimchi but I prefer savoy cabbage for this dish.
Serves 6
1/2 small to medium head savoy cabbage, cored, any ratty outer leaves removed and sliced into 1/4-inch strips
2 carrots, scrubbed and cut into match sticks
Salt
2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided (not toasted sesame oil)
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced, setting 2 tablespoons of sliced greens aside
1 serrano pepper, minced, including seeds or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more to taste)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon fish sauce (optional)
1 teaspoon sugar
Juice of half a lime, more to taste
Salt to taste
Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the chopped cabbage and carrots and par boil for 3 minutes. Drain well and put in a serving dish.
Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a small skillet. Add the chopped scallions, except the 2 tablespoon you’ve set aside, and the minced garlic and ginger. Saute over medium-high heat for about 90 seconds and then add to the blanched vegetables. Meanwhile in a small bowl whisk together the remaining sesame oil, fish sauce, hot pepper, vinegar, sugar, lime juice and about 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pour dressing over vegetables and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning with more lime juice/vinegar and/or salt. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Caldo Verde
–adapted very slightly from Tender by Nigel Slater
Savoy cabbage is very good in this traditional Portuguese soup but regular old green cabbage or any kind of kale works just as well. One fresh chorizo sausage (about 4 ounces) is enough to flavor this soup but if you have meat lovers at the table feel free to use another. If you’d like to make this without meat, I would add 1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika (Pimenton) and another clove or two of garlic at the beginning. This soup is even better the next day even though it’s not going to win any beauty contests.
Serves 4
Olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 medium potatoes, scrubbed and cut into bite-sized chunks
6 cups vegetable broth or water
2 bay leaves
1-2 fresh chorizo sausages (about 4-6 oz.), cut into thin rounds
(see headnote)
4 -5 cups cabbage, cored and cut into thin strips or kale (see headnote)
Salt and pepper
Good olive oil for drizzling
Sauté the onion and garlic over medium-low heat in a large pot in a bit of olive oil until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for a few more minutes before adding the water (or broth), bay leaves and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are quite soft. Meanwhile fry the slices of chorizo in a small pan until they are crisp and the fat has been rendered.
Mash the potatoes in the pot with a fork or potato masher until partially broken down. You want the potatoes to thicken the soup but also leave plenty of lumps. Add the cabbage and cook for a few minutes until tender. Add the chorizo, adjust for salt and serve the soup drizzled with good olive oil and another grind of pepper.
Mashed Parsnips, Carrots, Potatoes and/or Celery Root
This is a simple technique that can be used with most any root vegetable or better yet, combination of roots. You can change the ratio of vegetables to suit your taste or to what you have on hand. You can add herbs and/or spices–swap the creme fraiche for whole milk or cream or broth or cooking water. . .
Serves 4, generously
2 large carrots, scrubbed and trimmed and cut into chunks
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks or the equivalent amount of trimmed celery root
2 parsnips, scrubbed and trimmed and cut into chunks
Salt
1/3 -1/2 cup creme fraiche, cream, milk, plain yogurt (for more of a tangy flavor), broth or cooking water plus a little butter
Pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
Salt to taste
Put all the vegetables in a pot and cover with water. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer and cook until nice and tender but not falling apart. Reserve 1/2 cup of cooking liquid in case you need to loosen up the mash or if you’re using it instead of cream, etc. and drain the vegetables.
Put the vegetables in a food processor* with all the remaining ingredients and pulse/process until well mixed and you have your desired consistency. Add cooking liquid if it’s too thick to process well (or more cream, etc. ) I like it to have some texture and just process briefly.
*If your mixture includes potatoes you don’t want to process the vegetables in the food processor for very long as potatoes get gluey really quickly. In the mix above I processed everything together briefly and it was fine. If your potato ratio is higher I would just mash them by hand and puree the other vegetables, if you want a smoother texture.
Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, nutmeg, herbs, etc.
Parsnip and Parsley Hash with Lemon
This is one of my favorite ways to eat parsnips. It takes about 10 minutes—start to finish!
Serves 2
Olive oil
½ an onion (or more if you making this for more than 2 people), sliced or chopped
5 parsnips (or more), grated on large holes of a box grater (or in food processor)
½ bunch parsley, chopped
2 eggs (you want one egg per person)
Lemon juice
Salt & pepper
Generously coat the largest skillet you have with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for just a minute or two. Add the grated parsnips and a few generous pinches of salt and sauté, stirring frequently until browned and almost tender about 7 minutes on fairly high heat. You may want to cover the pan and you may need to add a bit more oil and/or turn the heat down a bit so they don’t burn. When the veggies are almost tender add the chopped parsley and mix well. Now scoot the parsnip mixture to one side of the pan. Add a bit more oil to the open side and fry your eggs there. Drizzle the parsnips mixture with a little lemon juice. When the eggs are cooked to your liking, serve the hash topped with the eggs, which you generously peppered and salted and drizzled with more olive oil.
Roasted Winter Squash with Spicy Yogurt Sauce and Cilantro
–adapted from Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi
This recipe makes quite a bit but I have no doubt the whole batch will be consumed within a day, but feel free to scale it back.
Serves 6-8
1 large or two smaller pie pumpkins, cut in half, seeds and strings removed and cut into1-inch or so wedges, leaving skin on or 1 medium butternut squash (about 3 lbs), cleaned and cut into wedges (I tend to peel the butternut before roasting but you can do it after the fact too)
1 teaspoon or more salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
¾ cup Greek yogurt (or plain whole milk regular yogurt)
1 1/2 tablespoon heavy cream or half and half (optional–things the sauce out a bit which is nice for drizzling)
2 teaspoons Sriracha or comparable hot sauce
½ – ¾ cup very finely chopped cilantro, stems and all
1 medium-large garlic clove, minced and then mashed with some coarse salt with the side of a chef’s knife on the cutting board until you have a paste
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
A little more salt
1/3-1/2 cup *toasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts or hazelnuts (chopped up if using the nuts)
Preheat Oven to 425 degrees
Toss the squash wedges with some salt and olive oil and spread on baking sheets and bake until tender and starting to brown. Let cool a bit and peel/cut off skin.
Meanwhile, stir the Sriracha and yogurt together in a small bowl. In another bowl mix the cilantro, garlic, salt and olive oil.
*To toast pumpkin seeds put raw seeds in a dry skillet over medium high heat. Toast, stirring often, until browned and puffed. Set aside to cool
Put the warm squash wedges on a platter and dollop with yogurt mixture, drizzle with herb sauce and sprinkle with seeds/nuts and serve. You may need to sprinkle the whole thing with a bit more salt.
Lentil Soup
It is easy to make in quantity to have enough for lunches for the week or freeze for a future meal.
Serves 6
2-3 medium carrots (or whatever you want to use), diced or cut into thin rounds
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon thyme (fresh or dried)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
1-2 bay leaves
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
2 cups lentils (either the French green Du Pay ones or regular larger, brown ones)
2 sausages
About 6 cups water or vegetable broth
2 medium potatoes, scrubbed and cut into ¾-inch dice
2 teaspoons soy sauce (seems strange but is very good)
1 tablespoon cider or red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Sauté carrot, onion and garlic in 1 ½ tablespoons or so of olive oil in a big pot until softened. Slice sausages into rounds, then cut those in half. Add the thyme, spices and sausage to the onions and carrots and cook for about 7-8 minutes. Then add lentils and about 6 cups of broth or water. Salt generously if you’re broth is not salty. Bring to a boil then turn down the heat to med/low and simmer covered for 15 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for another 20 minutes or so until everything is tender. Add the soy sauce and vinegar and adjust seasoning.