Another Labor...

My husband is a chef and a darn good one at that; the problem is that I rarely get the same meal twice. I may beg, plead and steal for something but it usually doesn't happen and I'm not one to get in the way of a creative genius. One of my favorites was his celery root risotto, I've been asking for it ever since and luckily at our local co-op the other evening while we were figuring out dinner there it was the ugly little booger, my celery root. I had the lucky opportunity to not only have it again but to learn how to make it so I can share it with you. Now, this is not a risotto in the traditional sense of the word. The celery root is chopped into small cubes and acts as the rice of the risotto and since the root is starchy it works. For those who have never seen or tasted celery root like I said before, it's an ugly little booger and it tastes pretty much like celery but without the strings.

 

So how do you eat this thing you ask? First, you cut off the ends and there is a trick to this - you don't want to see any dark brown veins. (The picture below shows bad veins.)You then stand it up on end and shave off the skin and you're ready to slice and chop. You want to slice about 1/4" thick then chop it the same so you wind up with an 1/4" cube.

So onto the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 celery root peeled and chopped
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/8 cup dry white wine
• 2 - 2.5 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup parmesean cheese (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Add olive oil and celery root to a pot and saute for 5 minutes. Add the white wine and add the chicken stock 1/4 cup at a time to allow the celery root to soak it up before adding more. Next combine the soy milk and parmesean cheese until well combined, this will give it the creamy texture. Add the salt and pepper to your liking, the celery root will be soft and slightly crunchy. Hope you enjoy!