After experimenting with cooked celery root in our beef pot pie, I've started noticing it in a variety of uncooked dishes, such as this salad. While some similar root vegetables can't be eaten raw (or wouldn't taste good if they were) celery root was pleasantly tasty as a raw ingredient in this salad. Not to mention, it has many health benefits- low calories, high potassium, rich in vitamins, and many more. It has a earthy, almost nutty taste which paired well with the sweet acidity from the apples. The texture reminds me of a carrot- crunchy but not starchy. The blue cheese and walnuts added some additional flavor and texture to the dish, and the tangy vinaigrette was the perfect thing to tie it all together. This is a light and refreshing salad, that is surprisingly filling at the same time. Thanks to Food & Wine for the recipe!
Ingredients:
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon
1/4 of a red onion, minced (or one shallot)
salt and pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
3 large granny smith apples, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large celery root (or two small- should be about the same amount as the apples) peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped or halved (I bought mine pre-roasted, but you can do that step yourself if yours are raw. It definitely makes a difference!)
*As a note, this recipe makes A LOT. But the leftovers save well and the salad tastes even better after a day or two. However, you can cut the recipe in half to make a smaller amount.
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| Peeled celery root |
Directions:
Make the dressing by combining the vinegar, mustard, onion or shallot, about 1/2 teaspoon salt and some freshly cracked black pepper. Let it stand for 10 minutes, and then whisk in the olive oil and 1/4 cup blue cheese.
Combine the chopped celery root and apple in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over top, and add the remaining blue cheese and walnuts. Mix thoroughly and refrigerate until ready to serve!
Sean always finds great recipes from Food & Wine- such as this pot pie which was delicious and comforting. We made a few minor changes, and halved the recipe to make just one large pot pie. This isn't your typical pot pie with actual pie crust, rather it is topped with cheddar biscuit batter that bakes along with the pie filling. It is much easier than going through the process of making a pie crust from scratch, in my opinion. And the result is delicious fluffy biscuits on top of the savory chunky filling. Yum!
Ingredients:
Pot Pie Filling:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 3/4 lb carrots, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
- 3/4 lb celery root or parsnips, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 1/4 lb ground beef
- 2 Italian sausage links, removed from casing
- 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1/8 cup flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 5 oz frozen peas (about a cup)
- salt and pepper
Biscuit Topping: Follow our cheddar garlic biscuit recipe, eliminating the garlic and reducing the salt to 1/2 teaspoon.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter and add the oil. Saute the carrots and celery root or parsnips with 1/2 teaspoon of salt for about 10 minutes, turning the heat to medium-high. As you can see in the picture, we used celery root which had an amazing flavor, so I would definitely recommend it if you can find it at the store.
When the vegetables have softened and are slightly browned, add the ground beef and sausage with an additional 1/2 teaspoon of salt, breaking up the meat as it browns. Sprinkle in the thyme and rosemary. We used a handy fresh herb grater that we got as a Christmas gift to mince and add the herbs. Cook for about 10 minutes, until all the pink is gone and most of the liquid has evaporated.
Stir in the flour and cook for 2 more minutes. Next add the milk and chicken stock, and simmer until thickened. (5-7 minutes)
Stir in the peas and cook a couple minutes longer, tasting for more salt and pepper. Pour the mixture in a 9x13 deep baking dish.
While the vegetable beef mixture is cooking, prepare your biscuit batter, following our recipe for cheddar biscuits as I mentioned above.
Place 12 even scoops of batter on top of your pie filling in the casserole dish. We used an ice cream scoop, and then added a little more to each one with the rest of the batter that was left.
Bake for about 15 minutes or until the biscuits are turning golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
