What To Do With... Celeriac

How would I describe this vegetable to someone who had never seen one before? Knobby? Gnarly? Ugly? Hmmm. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. How about delicious? Fresh? Delicately-flavoured? The more I thought about this neglected tuber, the more I realized Celeriac needs a publicist or better still, an agent. Celeriac needs someone who can help it cultivate a reputation for being delectable, versatile and easy to work with.

Sure, Celeriac isn’t the darling of the vegetable world (yet) and that’s okay. But certainly it is destined to feature in more than French bistro favourite, celeriac remoulade. It doesn’t have to be a niche vegetable, as it can be integrated into everyday meals and has far greater range than you might expect.

As I have gotten to know Celeriac over several meals together, I have really come to enjoy this time. In fact, it came to remind me of one of Canadian literature's most beloved characters, Dunstan Ramsey, from the novel, Fifth Business, by Robertson Davies. (Mandatory high school English Lit around these parts. In my mind, it is a shining example of the Canadian literature at its best.)

The main protagonist, Dunstan Ramsay, is a headmaster of an elite Canadian boys school, who reflects upon a life lived. As he tells his story, he comes to realize that he is Fifth Business, referring to a plot device who isn’t a main character but essential for plot progression.

Anyway, it’s a food blog and not an English essay so I will get to the point. In food terms, celeriac is Fifth Business. It is a great supporting cast member in many a meal, perhaps making an appearance as part of an appetizer or soup course or as a great side to a main.

Celeriac is generally easy to find at the grocery store (of course, this varies depending on where you are reading this), and is deceptively easy to cook. Celeriac has an incredible but mellow flavour, too. Being related to celery, it carries the familiar faint aroma of that childhood snack. It tastes clean and crisp but unlike it’s school yard counterpart, celeriac can be filling and substantive with a texture similar to potatoes (when cooked.)

Celeriac, I am a fan. If you’re looking for an agent, call me. I could be the Jerry Maguire to your Rod Tidwell. We’ll do lunch or dinner…



A note on produce selection: When buying celeriac, phalange-like roots are okay. Pick up the celeriac. It should feel sizable and firm but not heavy for it’s size. It will be a little dirty and there should be limited spots of green on the vegetable. Check the ends for white mould, and if it feels soft or wrinkled, put it back down. It’s old.

To prep celeriac: Carefully peel the celeriac with a sharp knife. If you think this is going to take a little bit of time, prepare a bowl of acidulated water (add lemon juice to a bowl of water), and drop chunks of celeriac as you go along to prevent it from browning.

Here are a couple of things you can do with celeriac:

1. Roast root vegetables with duck fat– celeriac, carrots, turnips, Swedes (rutabagas), and potatoes. Peel vegetables and cut into large chunks. Cook potatoes, swedes and celeriac for ten minutes, until it’s mostly tender. Drain well. Toss vegetables (parboiled and raw) with (brace yourself) a tablespoon or two of duck fat. Sprinkle with salt and toss well to coat evenly. Roast in a 425 degree oven for about 45 minutes. After about 25 minutes, remove from oven and give them vegetables a flip. Resist the urge to flip them more than once so that the outside develops a nice golden crusty exterior with a soft fluffy interior.

(Yes, you read that right. Duck fat. Yes, artery clogging glorious luscious animal fat. I know I have said this before, but you’re going to have to trust me on this one. Duck fat lends an incredibly rich, complex but subtle flavour. Even if you don’t like duck, you still may like duck fat. It’s absolutely delicious. Save the fat next time you roast off a duck, or if you’re like me, just ask your butcher.)

2. Celeriac remoulade- the classic French bistro preparation – so easy to do at home: Peel celeriac and julienne 1 medium sized celeriac. Toss gently with lemon juice. Mix 1/2c mayonnaise, 1/3c to 1/2c light sour cream. (I have seen some recipes with a full cup of mayo, I am substituting to lighten the dish) with 3 cornichons, diced finely, 1 tbsp of capers (here’s another use for capers if you need a refresher), and 1 tbsp of grainy mustard (we have one with a bit of horseradish and it’s nice.) Add a pinch of salt and pepper, toss with celeriac and garnish with about 1-2 tbsp of chopped parsley. Taste and adjust seasonings and serve.

3. Mashed celeriac (like mashed potatoes) – peel celeriac and cut into large chunks. Cook in a large pot with lightly salted water until fork tender. Drain well. Add 1/2c warmed milk, 2 tbsp of butter, salt and pepper and mash well.

4. Cream of Celeriac Soup - peel celeriac and cut into large chunks. In a large dutch oven, melt 2 tbsp of butter, once the butter has melted, tumble in celeriac. Cook until celeriac is soft and the edges are golden. Add 1 liter of chicken stock and 1 tsp of celery salt. Turn down heat to medium-low and cover. Cook until tender (about 15-20 minutes). Carefully blend until all the soup is smooth and free of chunks. Stir in 1/2 c of cream (or evaporated milk if you're cutting the calories.) Adjust seasoning and serve.

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Believe the Hype: The New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie Is It!

Today has been a busy but excellent day. For one, it is Superbowl Sunday, for two, the sun shone brightly & the day was warm and for three, it was a day of cooking. These three things made today excellent. (This day would have been great had my football team been playing in the Superbowl.)

It was nice to feel the sun on my cheeks, it was a little taste of Spring. (We will find out how long winter will last tomorrow morning after the groundhog prognosticates.) It’s Superbowl Sunday and while we wait for kick-off, I reflect on a great day of cooking and reading about food. I woke up early to get the chili into the slow cooker, I stumbled upon a great recipe for pull-apart bread that will be hitting the oven in the next hour and I read one of the funniest things I have read in a long time. (Click here for a Virgin Airlines in-flight meal complaint letter that is making the rounds on the internet. The letter is hilarious and well-written.)

For something sweet to close our Superbowl meal, I perused the food blogs this week, and I noticed a recurring theme:


the New York Times recipe for Chocolate Chip cookies. Everyone I know who has made these cookies has been raving, and I thought it might be nice to throw my hand up so I can see what all the fuss is about. If the venerable New York Times tells you this is a superlative cookie recipe, well, you have to at least give it a go.

Well, the NYT knows. Their food section is arguably the best food section of any paper I have read: the restaurant reviews, Mark Bittman, and of course, the recipes. I love the discourse on all things food (from high-end snobby food stuffs to politics of inner city urban gardens) and the recipes that come weekly. Whether it be world politics or food, our dear friends at the Times make no short cuts. In the case of this chocolate chip cookie recipe, the Times published 3 (web) pages detailing the quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Enough to convince the most skeptical foodie that the NYT did its due diligence.

I didn't rush out to make this cookie because I tend to steer away from recipes that seem unnecessarily fussy and admittedly this recipe appears unnecessarily fussy: it needs to rest for at least 24 hours, requires chocolate disks (versus chips), and two types of flour.

I wasn't able to source out high quality feves/discs for the cookies so I had to settle for the best quality semi-sweet chocolate chips I could find. (I had a big block of Callebaut chocolate but I visions of chocolate flying all over the kitchen as I started to chip away at the block for this recipe.)

Despite the two types of flour (not knowledgeable enough to assess if it made a difference), the fancy chocolate (good chocolate does makes a difference), and the weekend-long rest time (makes a difference), these cookies were heavenly. Within minutes of hitting the oven, the smell of chocolate and butter wafted throughout the house. I peered through the oven window and watched the cold cookie dough melt and bubble into its final form. It felt like an eternity as I waited the twenty minutes baking time. Then ding! Out of the oven, the cookies emerged tanned, golden and oozing chocolate. The little flecks of salt embedded themselves into the cookie and sparkled in the light. I only waited long enough to avoid burning the roof of my mouth before I tucked into the first one. Oh heaven. The chocolate was molten and the cookie, crisp on the outside, buttery and tender on the inside. The dusting of sea salt created an interesting and complex contrast against the sweetness of the chocolate. It's subtle but this addition makes this a chocolate chip cookie for grown ups. And you needn't worry about the cookies being salty. Sea salt may seem like an unusual addition to the cookie, but it really does they make it special. If you’re not so sure, try it on a couple to taste the difference. Adding salt to sweet things may seem a bit trendy these days, but rest assured this trend wouldn’t have taken off unless there was something to it.

The Verdict: They ARE the best chocolate chip cookies.

Happy baking.

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Jacques Torres

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content
Sea salt (your best)

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day ...Read more

What To Do With... Salmon

Note: I just wanted to say "welcome" to Noble Pig readers - I received an honourable mention in the Superbowl recipe contest (over 1,000 submissions for the contest, so I am grateful for the mention. The recipe for the chili can be found here.)




I like fish a lot, I especially like it raw. In fact, sushi is one easily one of my favourite things. It’s the epitome of natural food: fresh, clean-tasting, and simple.

In this fine city, we have had an unfortunate proliferation of sushi restaurants which has lowered the quality of what passes for sushi around here. You can get sushi anywhere: at the grocery store and everyone and their brother has a sushi restaurant. But prepared in the traditional way,

sushi should be perfectly carved fish, delicately placed upon a petite mound of fresh moist sushi rice. By contrast, a fast food sushi restaurant or a sushi buffet seems like a contradiction. In Masaharu Morimoto's coffee table cookbook, The Art of Japanese Cooking, he discusses the long road to becoming a true sushi chef. Years of perfecting the art of making rice and honing knife skills before a sushi apprentice is allowed to even touch fish. This kind of patience and search for utter perfection is admirable, and is far from the fast food sushi that has become so prevasive. (I also wonder in this day of immediate gratification, how many people really embark on this long journey to sushi master.) This is one meal I never make at home because I really enjoy the pleasure of eating sushi prepared in a traditional way.

Since I don't make my own sushi I haven't presented sushi recipes for you, but here are three ways I like to eat salmon (both raw and cooked.) Enjoy!


Gravlax:

1 side of salmon (the freshest possible) about 3 lbs, 1 bunch of dill, approximately 1/4c white sugar, 1/2c salt, 3 tbsp black pepper

1. Wash fish well. Pat dry
2. Mix sugar, salt, black pepper
3. Liberally apply to flesh of fish
4. Wash and chop dill. Spread on top of fish (again flesh side)
5. Wrap fish well (that means tightly) with Glad Wrap
6. Place in a shallow glass/ceramic baking dish. Place a plate and a weight (a brick, large can, etc.) on top
7. Refrigerate. Every 12 hours or so, flip the fish over and continue to weight it down. You’ll notice the fish exudes liquid. This is a good sign. This process should take about 3 days or so
8. Remove fish from fridge, gently scrap off dill and salt/sugar mixture. Do not rinse.
9. Thinly slice fish and serve
10. Keep wrapped in fresh Glad wrap if you’re not using it all at once. It should keep for another 3 days or so

I usually serve this with poached eggs and hollandaise or in a bagel with cream cheese. Or you anyway you would eat smoked salmon (tossed in pasta, canapes, etc.)

Salmon Tartare:

Serves 4 as appetizers

Finely dice 2 fillets of fresh salmon. Snip about 4 tiny stalks of chive (do not substitute green onion)over top and toss gently with a small amount of sea salt and black pepper. Finely dice 1 avocado, squeeze half a lemon over the avocado. Plate tartare starting with the salmon using a ring mold, followed by the avocado. Carefully remove the ring and serve immediately.


But salmon is something I also enjoy cooked. Salmon is a fish that is moist and tender and best served slightly under done. Trust me. I love the contrast in texture and flavour: crusty and golden on the outside with a moist coral-coloured interior.


One of the best ways to cook a fillet of salmon is to crust it with sesame seeds. But be warned, if you want salmon perfection, this does require your full attention. I am normally all for multi-tasking, but please don’t read your mail, answer the phone, or anything else you might do when you’re making dinner. A focused ten minutes on this. That’s all I ask. Bon Appetit!

Sesame Encrusted Salmon:

Serves 2

4-5 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tbsp black sesame seeds (if you don’t have it, just add more white sesame seeds)
2 fillets of salmon – washed, and patted dry
2 tbsp vegetable oil/ light olive oil

1. Heat a large pan on medium heat. Add vegetable oil
2. Ensure the salmon is patted dry. Press the fish flesh-side down onto a plate of sesame seeds. Press firmly to ensure that the flesh is well covered
3. Drop 1 sesame seed into the heated pan. If it sizzles, place fillets sesame seed side down onto the pan.

Your fish should look like the picture above... Mostly cooked but with a cool center. In the photo above, I have served the salmon with a simple miso-umeboshi plum sauce.

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Good Dinner Guests Bring Dessert – Part Two: Lemon Squares

There is something inherently comforting about old school desserts like brownies, chocolate chip cookies and lemon squares. For me, they evoke a time when our sweet cravings were satisfied by something simple, and more Betty Crocker like before we ate molten chocolate cakes, brules, and other seemingly fancier desserts.

Truth be told, I don’t really have a sweet tooth. I prefer a crusty baguette with a really nice butter to something sweet or chocolatey. But when I crave something sweet, this is what I crave. We have a bakery down the street that sells these humble little bars drizzled with white chocolate. Unfortunately, these bars rarely scratch the itch for me. There is not enough lemon curd and not nearly enough lemon flavour. While this bakery makes a mean mincemeat pie at Christmas, I have to turn to my own kitchen for a proper lemon square.

This is also one of my stand-by desserts to bring to a casual dinner party.

They are homey and unfussy but well plated, they look fancy enough for the occasion. I bring my shaker of icing sugar for plating and some fruit (I like blackberries) and you have dessert.

(This is also a great way to get rid of the three egg yolks if you made this.)

Lemon Squares

1 cup flour less 2 tbsp
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup cornmeal or crushed pistachios
4 tbsp icing sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 whole egg
3 egg yolk
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 tbsp 35% cream
juice of 1 large lemon*
Zest from 1 large lemon
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 F and butter and line the bottom of a 8 x 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper
Combine flour, salt, cornmeal (crushed pistachios) and icing sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until the dough is crumbly
Press dough into pan, trying to ensure the crust is even throughout. Bake crust for about 18 minutes until the edges look golden. Set crust aside to cool
Whisk the together the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, cream, juice, zest and baking powder until smooth. Carefully pour the filling into the cooled crust
Bake for approximately 25 minutes until set (the top will be slightly golden - do not overcook)
Cool at room temperature then chill in the fridge
Cut into squares and dust with icing sugar

*I have also made this recipe using limes (needs about 3 limes)

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What To Do With…. Fennel Seeds

Candy Spelling and I might be kindred spirits. The gossip mags tell me that Tori Spelling's mother has a wee bit of a problem. A shopping problem. I have one, too...when it comes to food. My husband can attest to this: We have a two drawers full of kitchen gadgets, a freezer full of summertime pesto, organic beef, and sustainable fish and a pantry full of grains and rices. But what I am most proud of is a cupboard filled with spices and herbs, sorted by regional cuisine. Because in what crazy world does sumac sit beside herbs de provence? :)

The most recent addition to my spice cabinet is a package of fennel seeds. My experience with fennel seeds is rather limited, while I have tasted fennel seeds in sausages and I have munched on them as I exited many an Indian restaurant, but I have never cooked with them. So I wasn’t really sure what I could do with them. Normally, when this happens,

I head downstairs and check my handy dandy reference guide, Culinary Artistry.

This book is a foodie's dream. It is organized by ingredient and provides a list of complementary flavours. If that wasn't enough, there are recipes from some of the world's most celebrated chefs to inspire you to the kitchen. There were two entries for fennel - one for the vegetable and one for the seed. Vegetable or seed - fennel does marry nicely with oranges, poultry, cabbage, and figs. I have listed somethings I would do with the seeds.

To extract the most flavour from them, toast and crush them to release their fragrance.



What To Do With... Fennel Seeds

1. Apple/Chicken Breakfast sausage patties - since I don't eat pork - I am always on the look out for breakfast "meat" substitutes. 1 lb ground chicken, 1 green apple grated, 1 tsp of crushed fennel seeds, 1 tsp maple syrup, 1/2 tsp celery salt, 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper, 1 beaten egg. Form into small patties about 2 tablespoons worth. Fry over medium heat until done. (Could also be baked.)

2. Roasted carrots -(about 4 carrots, peeled and sliced into coins) with tossed 1 tbsp of orange juice with 1 tsp of toasted and crushed fennel seeds

3. Orange and Fennel Seed cookies – I just received this recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cookie of the Day feature this week. And it's a keeper. This recipe calls for aniseed, which is similar but different from fennel seed. So it was a perfect opportunity to test out this recipe. These cookies were absolutely delicious even with my few adjustments. (I processed the fennel seeds with the almonds to ensure they are super-fine and they took longer than 12 minutes to bake.)



We ate these very quickly. :(

4. Braised fennel - slice the vegetable fennel, white wine, onions, butter and fennel seeds. See #6

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Dumplings Made Easy

As I sat down to write this, I had contemplated titling this blog entry as, “Dumplings for Dummies” as a way to convey how simple they are to make. But then I began to wonder if you, dear reader, might feel slighted in some way should you attempt this recipe. It’s not really a recipe for dummies, it’s just really simple to make. My intention here is to de-mystify dumpling making with easy to find ingredients. So hence, dumplings made easy.

Dumplings are a Sunday morning thing for us. On several occasions, we have visited a little place in Chinatown, Mother’s Dumplings for fresh and delicious dumplings. But since we have moved to the other side of the city, we visit it less and less. For those lazy Sunday mornings when our only plan is to watch a couple hours of football in the afternoon, we make dumplings.

They are really easy to make and a great way to shake off the Sunday morning haze. Of course, we gladly eat them anytime of the day (and we have), but when we are not feeling like the usual breakfast fare, we think of dumplings.

Most of the ingredients are thinks we normally have in our fridge (except for maybe the dumpling wrappers) so it is really easy to whip together at a moment’s notice. I call it a master recipe because you can switch out the ingredients as you wish as long as you keep an eye on the proportions.

A word on folding dumplings. I was not born with the dexterity of a master dumpling maker. My mom pinches this and pulls that and with a twist of her wrist, she produces enviable perfect little dumplings. I, on the other hand, still make bunny ears to tie my shoelaces, so I don’t purport to provide you with the technique for perfect dumpling wrapping (I am quite certain you can google this if you're keen), but this is a great and very simple way to make dumplings.

Sunday Morning Dumplings (Master Recipe)

1 lb of extra lean ground beef / chicken (or mixture with minced raw shrimp)
2 stalks green onions, finely minced
1 thumb-sized ginger, finely grated
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp cooked vegetables, minced (examples: spinach, mushrooms, savoy cabbage, carrots)

1 package of Shanghai dumpling wrappers / wonton wrappers*

1. Mix all the ingredients together except for the last ingredients. Mix well to incorporate, but do not over mix. To check for seasoning, make a small meatball and drop into a pot of boiling water, when it floats to the surface and starts to bob around, remove it with a slotted spoon. When cool enough, taste the meatball and adjust your seasonings.
2. Fill a small dish with a little warm water.
3. Using a teaspoon, scoop the filling onto the center of the wrapper. Dip your finger into the water and wetting the edges of the half side of the wrapper. Fold into half with the wet edge affixed to the dry edge to form a triangle or semi-circle (depending on the shape of your wrapper.)



4. Place on a dry plate, cover with a damp towel.
5. Repeat as necessary, keeping the dumplings covered under the towel.
6. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Once a rolling boil is achieved, carefully drop dumplings in one by one in small batches (depending on the size of your pot – 6 -12.) Don't be tempted to add too many to the pot as it will lower the temperature of the water and will take longer to return the water to boiling temperature. Give the dumplings a quick stir to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Once the dumplings start to float to the top and the water is boiling again, scoop them out with a slotted soup into a deep bowl.
7. Serve with chilli soy dipping sauce (recipe below)

Alternatively, you can steam the dumplings. Lay down a leaf of cabbage over a steamer and place dumplings on top. Steam until the wrapper turns from opaque toward translucent.

To make pot stickers, heat oil in a large, deep fry pan and carefully add dumplings and cook until the outside is crisp and slightly brown. Add about ½ c of water to the pan. Partially cover and steam, until the water is evaporated and the bottom side is crisp.

Chilli Soy Dipping Sauce

This is a recipe I base on proportion:

1 part acid (malt vinegar, lime juice)
2 parts soy sauce
1 part chilli sauce (sriracha, chilli garlic sauce, whatever you have)
splash sesame oil

Mix together and serve with dumplings.

*dumpling wrappers are either round or square. (We have used wonton wrappers but they are much thinner and lend themselves better as part of a soup. If you are looking to make this, try to look for Shanghai dumpling wrappers. You can find dumpling wrappers in the grocery store, usually in the refrigerator section in the vegetable aisle in most grocery stores – at least in Toronto. Most Asian supermarkets will have them as well.)

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