Winter's Ugly Duckling: Celery Root

You've got to feel sorry for the celery root. The lumpy, grey green vegetable is continually overshadowed by its shallow and flamboyant plume (celery has got to be the vegetable's equivalent to the dumb blonde). Even in these days of scarcity, the celery root isn't much to look at. It suffers in comparison to the other roots of winter, the showy beet, golden rutabaga, and red-headed carrot - even the lowly turnip has a rosy blush to its cheeks, like a sturdy farm girl. Only burdock, edges it out in ugliness. And while usually, the French moniker makes a food more palatable (think escargot v. snail), but in this case, celeriac makes me think of celiac's disease - ugh.

It's a shame, because the celery root requires little effort to shine. In fact, it's one of the few underground dwelling vegetables that you don't need to cook prior to eating. It can be mashed, frittered, gratined, and, as in the following, recipe, grated and dressed.

I served this dish, Celery Root Remoulade, at a recent party. It was one of the most popular dishes, I supect in large part, because its unfamiliarity led to a false sense of exoticness. The swan emerged.

With a food processor, this recipe can be made in just a few minutes making it a great weeknight side dish.

Celery Root Remoulade
6 to 8 servings

1 celery root
1/2 lemon
1 cup mayonnaise, either homemade or Hellman's
1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons capers, drained
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Peel and julienne the celery root - this is easily done in a food processor. Mix the celery root and lemon juice in a large bowl. Mix in the remaining ingredients.

Mayonnaise
Makes approximately 2 cups

2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 cup canola oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Food Processor Method: Combine the egg yolks and mustard in the bowl of a food processor. Through the feed tube, pour the oils in a very slow stream while the machine is on. The aioli is done when it’s thick and emulsified. When fully emulsified, the mixture will make a distinctive slapping sound against the sides of the bowl. Mix in the lemon juice and season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
By Hand: Combine the egg yolks and mustard in a medium size bowl. Wrap a kitchen towel around the base of the bowl to anchor it. Pour the oils into the egg mixture in a slow stream until the two are emulsified. Mix in the lemon juice and season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Fixing a broken mayonnaise: It is almost certain that if you make mayonnaise or aioli more than once, it will break. There’s no need to start over. Simply whisk 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard in a mixing bowl, add 1 tablespoon of the broken mayonnaise (make sure that you stir it up first to ensure that you get oil and egg in the sample), whisk together until the mixture thickens. Slowly add the remaining broken mayonnaise, whisking constantly until emulsified.
Doctoring store bought mayonnaise: If you’re concerned about using raw eggs or are pressed for time, you can easily doctor a commercially produced mayonnaise. Take 2 cups of store bought mayonnaise (I suggest Hellman’s) and add the lemon juice and Dijon mustard called for in this recipe. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Recipes for Green City Market Demo

Thanks to everyone who stopped by my "Meat and Potato" demo today at Green City Market. If you want to try the samosas at home, here's my recipe for the Squash and Bacon Samosa and also for the Cilantro Chutney that I paired with the little dumplings.

Squash and Bacon Samosas

I adapted the samosa dough from Julie Sahni's book Savoring India that she wrote for Williams-Sonoma. Everything I've made from it has been absolutely delicious.


Makes 16 samosas

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water less 1 tablespoon white wine
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup water
1 1/2 cup Winter squash mash
2 medium boiling potatoes cooked until tender and peeled after cooking
1 bacon slice
½ teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1/8 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon salt
½ leek, chopped, or 1/2 chopped yellow onion
vegetable oil for deep frying



Mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of wine to a measuring cup and then pour in enough water to equal 2/3 cup liquid. Add the oil to the cup and stir. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry gradually while stirring with a fork. You want the mixture to come together just enough to be kneaded so you may have some liquid left over. Knead the dough on a floured surface until it forms a soft dough. Return the dough to a clean, oiled bowl, cover with a cloth, and let rest for ½ hour. In the meantime, make the filling.

Mash together the squash and potato. Cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon to drain. Add the leek and cook until softened in the bacon fat. Sprinkle on the spices and salt and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Scrape in mashed potatoes and squash and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Roll the dough out to an 18-inch rope between your fingers.



Cut into 8 even pieces. Working with one at a time, roll a piece into a 6-inch circle. Cut it in half. Add heaping tablespoon of filling to one side. Brush with dissolved cornstarch and form a cone. Seal the edges. When finished with a samosa, set it onto a baking sheet lined with parchment, wax paper or silicone pan liner. Repeat with reamining samosas. Samosas can be frozen at this point.

Heat oil in a large, heavy pot until 325º F. Fry for about 7 minutes or until browned. If you're cooking them from the freezer, you will need to cook them a little longer. Drain and serve with cilantro chutney.

Cilantro Chutney
Makes approximately 1 cup

1 ½ cups cilantro leaves
1 ½ tablespoon chopped tropea or other red onion
½ small red chili pepper
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil.

Puree all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth.

The Power of the Pen: Kids Write for Good Food

You know what they say about the power of the pen. Pair heart-felt words with kid-style handwriting to effect real change to school lunch. This Saturday, from 8:00am-1:00pm at the Notebaert Nature Museum, the Green City Market and Slow Food Chicago co-host "Kids Write to Eat," a letter writing campaign for getting good food into our schools. Paper, pens, and crayons included.

Check out Time Out Chicago where you may recognize the featured writer.

Lusciously Local Layers: Lasagne

Yes, I know, I've just posted a picture of an empty pan, a very white, clean pan. Certainly, a picture that looks neither luscious nor layered.

But for a little while on Saturday evening, this was filled with luscious, layers of fresh pasta, homemade ricotta, and ground grassfed beef coated with a creamy sauce made from Tomato Mountain roasted tomatoes. This largely local lasagna was our contribution to a regular gathering of friends. While I brought my camera, I wasn't quick enough to snap a shot before it was largely gone. For a moment, I considered shooting the sole remaining piece, but the lonely layers were wrapped and the pan washed before I got around to pulling the camera out.

It was not so popular with the kindergarten set. While my son liked it, it couldn't compare with the promise of playtime with his best school friend. No matter, it left more for the big kids.

Lasagna

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions cut into ½-inch dice
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup dry red wine
42-ounces whole, peeled tomatoes, pureed in a blender
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pinch red pepper
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 grinds of black pepper
1 pound fresh lasagna noodles (if so inclined to make your own here's the recipe for fresh pasta)
1 ½ pound ricotta
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup sparkling water
1 tablespoons chives, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
1 tablespoon basil, finely chopped
1/3 cup grated mozzarella

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add beef and salt; cook until no longer pink. Add wine and bring the liquid to a boil, cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, oregano, red pepper and bay leaf and cook uncovered for a half hour or until slightly thickened. Add balsamic vinegar and cook for 1 minute. Stir in cream and pepper and remove from the heat.

In a large bowl, mix together ricotta, parmesan cheese, egg, sparkling water, and herbs.

Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with olive oil. Spread a quarter of the sauce on to the bottom of the pan. Layer a quarter of the noodles on top of the sauce. Drop 1/3 of the filling in gobs of of the filling onto the noodles. Repeat two more times, end with remaining noodles and sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Put into the prepared pan cut side down. Bake for about an hour or until the cheese on top is bubbling and golden. Remove from the oven and let set for ten minutes.

Laissez les bon temps rouler! Calas

Photo Credit, Amanda Sudimack, Artisan Events

It's Fat Tuesday and boy am I fat.

Even though I'm Lutheran with no Lenten obligation to forgo anything, I'm looking forward to some lean days.

With birthdays, Super Bowl, Valentine's Day, and now this last hurrah of New Orleanian indulgences, I'm all feasted out. Well, almost. I certainly couldn't let this last day of debauchery go unhonored.

We started this year's celebration a little early with a Sunday breakfast of calas - the red headed step child of New Orleans fried doughs. I've never understood why the beignet has outshone it's rice filled relation. While Cafe du Monde's chicory laced coffee is delicious, its yeasted doughnuts don't hold much appeal to me. But the calas, ah, that's an entirely different story.

I'm glad to know that the calas has experienced a resurgence thanks to intrepid New Orleans food personality, Poppy Tooker, and the local Slow Food convivium.

Calas aren't difficult to make, just a little messy, as all fried foods can be. This recipe is adapted from American Traditions: A Classic Guide to Regional Cooking, an eminently usable coffee table book. Serve these little fried delights with top quality jam.

Calas

1/2 cup long-grain rice
1 package active dried yeast
1/2 cup water approximately 110 F
3 large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
vegetable oil for frying
confectioners' sugar

Cook the rice in a large pot of boiling salted water for 1/2 hour or until it is mushy and very soft. Drain and cool to room temperature. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let sit until foamy. Mix together the dissolved yeast and rice in a large mixing bowl. Cover tightly and set in a warm location overnight. In the morning, mix the eggs, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and extract into the yeasted rice. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for 1/2 hour. Heat about 4 inches of oil in a large pot until 350 F. If necessary, add a little more flour until the batter drops slowly from a spoon. Drop large spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil. Fry until the calas is browned on all sides, turning several times during the frying. Drain on crumpled paper towels. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve immediately with jam.

Samosa Madness

Teaching 17 kids ranging in age from 4 to 10 how to make samosas and chutney, what kind of madness is that?


Photo Credit, Tab Kejriwal

The kind that ensured at "So Samosa!" held on January 31st at Roscoe Village's Smarty Party. With the assistance of accomplished home cook, Nikita Kejriwal, we rolled, filled, and shaped approximately 75 samosas, frying them up while the kids played a spirited game of Blind Man's Bluff. Two hours later, parents and children alike went home tired, satiated, and more than a little dusty from the flour.


Photo Credit, Tab Kejriwal

Nikita graciously shared the recipes with me to post here. Each variety would be a welcome treat for parents and children alike.

Samosa Dough

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup melted ghee or vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
vegetable oil for frying

Combine the ingredients in a medium bowl and knead into a semi-soft dough using a bit of water. Cover with saran wrap and let rest for 1/2 hour. Divide dough into 8 to 9 portions. Roll each portion into a ball. Flatten out the dough using a rolling pin and a little oil to about 1/8-inch thickness. Cut each circle into 2 semi-circles. Brush the straight edges with a little water. Form into cones by meeting the straight ends of the semi-circle, overlapping slightly. Seal firmly. Fill with stuffing and close the samosa by overlapping the edges slighly. Seal into a triangle. Set the formed samosas on a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet until ready to fry. Heat about 4 inches of vegetable in a large pot to 325 F. Fry until the samosas are golden brown. Drain on crumpled paper towels. Serve hot with with chutney.

Potato-Pea Filling

2 medium potatoes, boiled and peeled
1/4 cup cooked peas
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon paprika or red chili powder for heat-tolerant palates
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
kosher salt to taste

Mix together all ingredients in a medium bowl.

Spinach-Paneer Filling

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika or chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
2 cups cooked spinach
1/2 cup paneer or drained cottage cheese
kosher salt to taste

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet. Add paprika or chilli powder,garam masala, and spinach. Add salt to taste. Cook for 2 minutes. Let the spinach come to room temperature and add cheese.

Cilantro Chutney

1/2 raw green mango peeled
2 bunches of cilantro, heavy stems removed
kosher salt to taste
1/2 cup lime juice

Puree in a food processor. If you're hard core, you could always grind it into a paste into a mortar and pestle (a great job for little boys).

In Bayless' Garden: Blog Giveaway

Here in Chicago, we're lucky to have Rick Bayless. Not only are his restaurants delicious, they're both accessible and share our food sensibilities. As a result, brunch at Frontera and his new Xoco are regular within our family rotation. Plus, he's such a great guy.

I was terrifically lucky to score not one, but two, invites to his garden this summer. The first was a delightful cocktail party on the eve of the Chefs Collaborative Summit where he opened his home to the sustainably minded food professionals who descended on Chicago in mid-September. Because my clunky Canon didn't go with my cocktail dress, I took no pictures that evening. No, these shots are from a few weeks later when I toured his garden with a small group of friends working on improving the food systems on Chicago's south side.

Bayless' garden takes up almost two entire city lots bordering on an old train line. The home formerly was a neighborhood tavern (quite apropos for a restaurateur). One lot is ornamental with beautiful outdoor living space. The second is a working farm/garden that provides produce for his restaurants.

During these gray, cold Chicago winter days, I wanted to share these photos, a reminder of how beautiful the harvest season can be.

In the spirit of sharing, we're having our first blog giveaway. Thor has pulled a number between 1 and 30 from his winter hat. The poster whose post corresponds with that number shall win Rick Bayless's wonderful cookbook Mexican Everyday. Only rule? One post per person.