Recipe: Celery Root and Chickpea Puree

CELERY ROOT AND CHICKPEA PUREE

"In the winter when I make any kind of roasted meat, I like to serve something creamy and comforting with it. There's nothing wrong with great mashed potatoes, but I'm always looking for an alternative. This puree has a texture similar to coarsely mashed potatoes, but has lots of flavor from the celery root, chickpeas, lemon, and Parmesan cheese."



6 cups peeled, 3/4-inch-diced celery root (2 1/2
pounds)
2 cups good chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 (1 pound 13 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
Good olive oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves*
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated Italian Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

Place the celery root and chicken stock in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the celery root is very tender.

Add the drained chickpeas, return to a simmer, and cook for 3 minutes, until heated through.

Carefully pour the celery root and chickpea mixture, including the liquid, into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and process until coarsely pureed. (You may need to do this in batches.) Return the puree to the saucepan and reheat over low heat.

In a 1 cup glass measuring cup, combine 1/4 cup olive oil, the thyme, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper, and whisk it into the puree. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan.

Taste for seasonings and serve hot with an extra sprinkling of Parmesan .

*Remove thyme leaves from the sprigs by running your fingers backward over stem.

TO MAKE AHEAD:
Prepare the puree completely except for the Parmesan cheese. Reheat with a little extra chicken stock or water over medium-low heat. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan before serving.

Makes 6 servings
Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Clarkson Potter
Source: Cook Like a Pro by Ina Garten