Sweet Potato and Celeriac MashUp

I had a small dinner party last week and had some sweet potatoes and half a large celery root (celeriac) left over. When I opened the fridge, I knew what I had to do: invent something yummy with these vegetables! I have to tell you that what's on the cutting board isn't all of what's in this recipe. I made it up as I went along, tasting and adjusting. I'll explain, but here's the dish.

ON THE CUTTING BOARD:



Three sweet potatoes cut in chunks, half of a medium-sized celeriac cut in chunks, crushed hazelnuts, Italian parsley, butter, garlic, salt, pepper, butter. Not shown are tarragon, rosemary and balsamic vinegar.

STEP ONE:



STEP ONE:

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a slow simmer. Place a steamer in the pot and add the potatoes and celeriac. Steam for about 12 minutes until a knife can easily pierce through.

STEP TWO:






Okay, here's where things get tricky: place 1/3 of the vegetables in a bowl, add a T. of good butter, 1/2 tsp WHITE pepper (a black pepper mill is on the cutting board), 1/4 tsp of sea salt (or to taste), 1/4 tsp of minced garlic. Mash and enjoy!  BUT....

STEP THREE:



I had some tarragon and rosemary that needed to be used, so I divided the rest of the potatoes into two bowls. In one I mashed the vegetables as before with the original ingredients but added tarragon, and in the other the same but with rosemary and a little balsamic vinegar.  My husband served as my taster. His taste buds told him that the one with tarragon was the best with the rosemary and balsamic a close second. Me? I liked the original recipe the most. (in the middle of this photo). It just had a real comfy food quality that appealed to me. I don't necessarily like sweet potatoes but was moved to make sweet potato and celeriac fries to go with the rockfish I had cooked for the dinner party. The mashed celeriac cut the sweetness of the  potato just enough to allow the earthy root flavor of the celery root to shine through. With the butter, salt and pepper and a touch of minced garlic, it was enough for me! All are good though, and is a matter of taste. This recipe calls for lots of experimentation! And I never used the hazelnuts until I decided to...

STEP FOUR:





I ended up just mashing all three flavors together mixing in the hazelnuts (about 1/4 cup) that I pulverized in my NutriBullet. Place in a bowl and garnish with parsley.  It was very good. I served it with sautéd shrimp and mushrooms and a green salad.

I love to experiment when faced with stuff in the fridge that needs to be cooked. You never know what you'll come up with. I encourage you to fool around in your kitchen too as you use up what you have on hand.

ALLA VOSTRA SALUTE!

Breaded Chicken Cutlets with Crushed Hazelnuts

Greetings!

Figuring out what to make for dinner was easy because all I had were some vegetables and chicken cutlets in the fridge and a fair portion of fresh herbs. The evening before, I had hosted a small dinner party and had the herbs and some crushed hazelnuts left over, so I set them out as well. I thought breading the cutlets using the hazelnuts was an interesting idea so decided to try it. Here's the recipe:

ON THE CUTTING BOARD:



Chicken cutlets, half a lemon, fresh thyme, fresh parsley, garlic, crushed hazelnuts (about a third of a cup), plain bread crumbs, organic whole milk, hot paprika, chili powder, kosher salt.

STEP ONE:

Whisk one egg into 3/4 cup of milk in a medium bowl. Mix 1/2 tsp. hot paprika, 1 tsp. chili powder, about six springs of thyme leaves, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. garlic powder* into 1 cup of plain bread crumbs and the crushed hazelnuts.



STEP TWO:



Immerse the chicken in the egg mixture and then dredge in the bread crumbs. Set aside until you prepare all the cutlets.

STEP THREE:




Heat 3T. of olive oil in a pan (I love my cast iron pan!).
When the oil is very hot, place as many cutlets as can fit without touching into the pan. They should immediately sizzle when they touch the oil.



Shallow fry the cutlets for 3 minutes on each side. They should be golden brown. Drain on paper towels and keep in a warm oven while you fry the rest.

STEP FOUR:



STEP FOUR:

Arrange on a plate, garnish with lemon slices and parsley and serve (I served with roasted brussels sprouts and an avocado and tomato salad).

* I decided to use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic.

ALLA VOSTRA SALUTE!