R E C I P E S

Celery Root and Potato Purée

By Edward Behr

Celery root, or celeriac, with its strong flavor, is often mixed with potato in a white purée, which goes well with meats, especially flavorful ones such as roast beef, goose, and above all wild boar and other game. Try to find celery root that’s young and white all through rather than old and threaded with tan fibers. And choose a drier, more floury potato to give more substantial texture to the purée. If you’re wary of fat, you can reduce the amount of butter without much loss of flavor or texture. The proportions for the purée are partly a matter of taste — really, it’s hard to go wrong — and you can boil turnips or whole cloves of garlic with the potatoes and add them too.

2 pounds (900 gr) celery root, peeled and quartered

1 large onion, finely sliced

4 tablespoons (50 gr) or more unsalted butter

1½ pounds (700 gr) floury potatoes

salt and pepper

Boil the celery root until tender, roughly 15 minutes. Drain, reserving a cup of the liquid. Purée the celery root in a food processor, unless the roots have woody fibers. If they do, put them through the fine holes of a food mill and then through a fine strainer.

In a covered, heavy pot, stew the onion in ½ tablespoon (7 gr) of the butter over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the slices are entirely limp and translucent — don’t let them color. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes, cut them into large pieces, and bring to a boil, starting in cold water; or, preferably, bake them whole in their skins in a 425° F (220° C) oven, then halve them and spoon them out of their skins. Reduce the hot potatoes to a purée together with the onion by passing them through the fine holes of a food mill (a food processor risks making glutinous potatoes).

Combine all three vegetables in a large saucepan, add the remaining butter, thin if necessary with some of the reserved cooking liquid, and season with salt and pepper. Serves 4 or 5.