Roasted Potato and Celeriac Salad with White Truffle Oil

Celeriac is like the ugly stepsister of the veggies...it looks like a tangled mess of roots and I have to admit the first time I came across it I had no idea what it was and was rather intimidated.  I now know that it is delicious when peeled and thinly sliced to go raw into a salad or roasted and pureed eaten like mashed potatoes. 

It was funny, the other week I was picking some up, and a cute guy who happened to be standing next to me in the produce department picking up some beets said to me, "What the heck is THAT?"  I explained to him what it was but he still seemed skeptical about how tasty it could be.  However he still asked for my advice on how best to prepare the beets, as he was buying them for the first time.  I should have gotten his number...oh well.  Back to the celeriac, I thought it would be wonderful roasted with some potatoes in a warm salad along with some leeks.  I figured all of the earthy flavors  would be friendly  and delicious with one another. 

 

The veggies would have been delicious simply roasted with olive oil and seasoned with a little sea salt and freshly ground pepper, but I tossed them in a truffle oil vinaigrette, further adding to the earthiness, and deliciousness of the salad.  I still thought it needed something to finish it off so I shaved some pecorino romano over the top and sprinkled a few toasted pine nuts.  It was amazing!  The crisp on the outside tender on the inside veggies were full of flavor, and the truffle oil set them off.  The salty pecorino romano was a perfect match for the earthy vegetables, and the pine nuts added a nice toasty crunch!  So much for the celeriac being an ugly stepsister, it is awefully delicious!  Here is the salad recipe if you would like to try some!

Roasted Potato and Celeriac Salad with White Truffle Oil
Serves 4

1 large celeriac, cut into large cubes
3 cups baby potatoes, cut into 3rds
2 large leeks, thickly sliced
olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme, or 1 Tbsp fresh
1 Tbsp white truffle oil
1 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
2 oz shaved pecorino romano cheese

Preheat oven to 475 degrees, and line a baking sheet with foil.  Toss celeriac, potatoes, and leeks with just enough olive oil to coat, and spread out on sheet.  Roast for 15-20 minutes, or until tender and browned at the edges.  Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.  In a small bowl, whisk together thyme, truffle oil, 1 Tbsp olive oil,  lemon juice, garlic, sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.  Place veggies in a large bowl, pour dressing over, and toss to coat.  Place on a serving plate, and sprinkle with pine nuts and pecorino romano. 

Beet and Celeriac Hashbrowns with Fried Egg and Garlicy Mustard Greens

Minnesota woke up to a blanket of white powdered sugar frosting outside today...as it decided to dump snow after being nice and finally up to 50 degrees last week.  Kind of an evil tease on the weather's part if you ask me!  I was a bit bummed about it being cold and all, wanting to run outside today, but opting for the treadmill instead since they did a horrible job of plowing around my neighborhood.  Just looking at the snow makes me feel chilly!  The deli where I work sold gallons of soup and tons of hot food today to the brave souls that felt like venturing out.  I needed some warmth as well and maybe that is why I thought a bit of warming breakfast for dinner tonight might be just the thing!  I was sittting on my lunchbreak trying to figure out what I could make from the ingredients I had at home.  Not something sweet like pancakes, which I always have the makings for.  Something savory and a little salty like hash browns sounded perfect!  But there was one problem.  I didn't have any potatoes.  I did however have celeriac and beets! 

A beet and celeriac hash, how beautiful would that be with the bright red color?!  So that is what I made.  I topped it off with a fried egg, and some garlicy mustard greens, which are my favorite green right now, so I had bought a bunch of them last weekend.  It was beautiful, with the red and green, but most importantly it was delicious!  Salty hash browns crisped at the edges full of veggie goodness and spicy mustard greens with the richness of the egg...yummy!  Made me forget about the icky snow for a bit!  If you think potatoes are the only way to go with hashed browns you should try some other veggies, you just might like them!  Here is the recipe if you would like to try mine! 

Beet and Celeriac Hashbrowns with Fried Egg and Garlicy Mustard Greens

Serves 2

1 large shallot, minced
1 large beet, peeled and grated
1 medium celeriac (celery root), peeled and grated
1/2 tsp sea salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tbsp Earth Balance butter
1 Tbsp olive oil, or more if needed

2 large organic eggs

1 medium bunch mustard greens
1 clove garlic, minced

In a bowl, mix together the shallot, beet, and celeriac along with pepper.  Preheat oven to 250 degrees.   In a medium non-stick skillet, melt the butter and olive oil over medium heat.  Place the beet mixture into the pan and press down with a spatula.  Let cook a few minutes, then break up, flip over the pieces and press back together to brown other side.  Do this a few times until the veggies are starting to get browned.  When browned, remove from pan, sprinkle liberally with sea salt, and keep warm in the oven.  Wipe out the chunks from the pan, and either spray with non-stick spray or add a little more olive oil.  Place back on heat, and when hot, add eggs.  Cover pan, and reduce heat to medium low until eggs reach desired doneness (or you could do over-easy and flip them to cook the other side, in which case don't reduce the heat or cover with the pan).  When eggs are done cooking, remove from pan, and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper and keep warm.  Place pan back on the heat, return heat to medium, and add a little more olive oil to the pan, along with garlic and mustard greens.  Saute greens until they are just wilted, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper and remove from heat.  To plate, place a half the hash browns on each plate.  Top each with an egg and half of the mustard greens.  Enjoy!