I was so happy to see this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe (Go-with-everything celery root purée, p 254) pop up! I am a huge fan of mashed potatoes, though Neil is not, so I was keen to try this and see what he thought (I knew I would like it!).
It’s a simple recipe, celery root, onion and a small amount of potato simmered in milk, strained and mashed with some butter. Its silky and smooth once mashed (I used both a food processor and an immersion blender, as I made it twice) and not at all sharp as raw celery root is (I like that but you don’t want a sharp flavour in a mash). I added some chives for colour.
I served it with the chicken apples and cream à la Normande from a couple of French Fridays ago (both at home and when I made it with Les Petits Chefs) and it wa perfect for soaking up the juices. I actually ate a fair bit of it just on its own. It’s THAT good.
I’ll be using this on top of shepherd’s pie the next time I make it for a unique spin on a classic. And Mr Neil even liked it so that means we get to eat mash in our house again! Hurrah!
French Fridays with Dorie participants do not publish the recipes on our blogs (though this week you can find the recipe online here) rather, we prefer if you purchase Around My French Table for yourselves (trust me, you definitely want this book!) which you can do here on Amazon or Amazon Canada. Or for free worldwide shipping, buy from The Book Depository. Go on, treat yourself then join us here!
*** I’m in Myanmar right now with extremely limited internet access (if any) but if I can I will share a few pics via Instagram, Twitter or Flickr – feel free to follow me there if you are not already!
Beautiful!
I wonder how this would be on top of Dorie’s hachis parmentier? I am sure it was lovely with the chicken.
P.S. Your link is up on FFwD site.
You’re the best.
Oh YES!!!
I liked this better than mashed potatoes, too! Wonderful base for Dorie’s chicken. Happy, happy New Year, Mardi!
SO much better than mashed potatoes.
Sounds interesting to pair this with the chicken and cream dish. I definitely wasn’t fond of this dish by itself, but I imagine it would be okay with other flavors. And yours certainly looks beautiful! I love that presentation! Happy New Year to you!
Yes it needs something else but I personally liked it on its own.
Lovely lovely lovely! I chickened out and made gougeres because I felt a distaste for the idea of celery root but maybe I was wrong?? Hope you have a Happy New Year Mardi!
This doesn’t taste like celery root at all. It’s smooth and creamy and buttery!
Nice idea to pair this with that delicious chicken. I served with beef stew, but I like your idea to use it as topping for the hachis parmentier (one of my favorite AMFT recipes). Happy New Year! Hope you are having a fabulous time in Myanmar.
Oh that would be great with beef stew!
I love your pairing this with the Chicken Normandy… fabulous contrast to the sweet creamy chicken. Happy New Year.
Yes it was a good pairing.
Love mashed celery root. Wouldn’t even miss the taters!
Not at all, though there are some in there…
This puree would have been perfect with the chicken – it demands a sauce to soak up the juice. And hubby liked it – bonus. Happy New Year Mardi!
Yes it was perfect for a juicy dish like the chicken.
This would be wonderful on top of shepherd’s pie! What a great idea! I served mine with the chicken dish as well, only I used pork. It was tasty, wasn’t it?
Very!
Great idea to serve this with Dorie’s chicken! Happy New Year Mardi!
Yes it really does “go with everything” 😉
You dish looks wonderful. I’m sure it was good with the chicken, and your ideas about shepherd’s pie (or Cher’s about hachis parmentier) sound really good.
Happy New Year!
Thanks Candy!
Such a good choice to serve it with the chicken and I really like your idea of using it as an alternative to mashed potatoes on a shepherd’s pie. Hope your travels are glorious – happy New Year!
Yes I think I need to try the shepherd’s pie!
I thought you were in Morocco and that was exciting enough. But, Myanmar, is beyond fabulous. Our President was just there so you are in good company (in my opinion). As soon as I leave your comment, I am going to try to catch up with you via I, T or F. What an experience, Mardi.
Back to the mundane, I guess. I loved this recipe – first time to use celery root as a “mash”. Loved writing that. Although I’ve made Céleri Rémoulade several times, this was a new one for me. Although it went well with what I made on Christmas Day, I do feel that this should be served with something soupy and saucy, just as you did.
Happy New Year. Travel Safely. Now…..on to catch up with you.
It’s definitely going into regular rotation in my house, that’s for sure!