January 21, 2009 | Vegetables
I was busy cooking for the Whiz Kids tutoring program dinner yesterday and was rooting around in my kitchen for something to nibble on when I made an incredibly delicious accidental dish. It all starts with celeriac (sometimes called celery root), the weird thing you see at the left that looks a bit like an octopus. It’s a root vegetable and I’ve been getting them from my farm during the winter harvest. You cut off the roots and peel it and you’ll find it has a mild celery taste. It’s often used in combination with potatoes to make a mashed vegetable dish, and I had some of that left over in my refrigerator. I also saw a hunk of goat cheese in there so I added that to it, heated it up, stirred it all together and voila – heaven in a bowl!
Potato and Celeriac Mash with Bacon and Goat Cheese
Serves 4-64 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 whole celeriac, peeled and cubed
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup heavy cream, or substitute chicken broth
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
4 slices bacon, diced
salt and pepper, to tasteAdd potatoes and celeriac to a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, add salt, reduce to simmer, and cook until soft. While the potatoes are cooking, fry bacon in a large skillet until very crisp. Drain fat completely on paper towels. When the vegetables are soft, drain and return to the hot pot. Add the butter, heavy cream and goat cheese crumbles and mash together until smooth. If you prefer a creamier texture, add more cream, chicken broth, milk or a little of the potato cooking water. Add bacon crumbles and season with salt and pepper to taste.
[...] You’ve probably already discovered that celeriac and potatoes mashed together taste great – but why not try the simple addition of goat cheese and bacon in my Potato and Celeriac Mash? [...]