The past few weeks in quarantine I am usually cooking dinner for one.  My dear son Ryan visits once a week for an early dinner and to pick up all the beautiful farmers market finds of the week.  Cooking for me is a creative escape I find so therapeutic and have recently been revisiting cookbooks looking for new recipes to challenge me as well as bring something new to my kitchen.  My most recent visit to the Farmer’s Market I picked up celeriac root (celery root).  In France, celery root is a common root vegetable used in a variety of ways.  In America, it is still a foreign vegetable as are ramps.  The most popular dish in France is celeriac remoulade which is similar to coleslaw.  I love coleslaw and may make the French version one day soon. Celeriac is high in fiber, potassium and vitamin K.  If eaten raw it is a good source of Vitamin C.

CELERIAC WITH HAZELNUT & MINT
(CELERY ROOT)

This amazing root vegetable is one of my favorites!
You can serve the following recipe as a side dish warm with fish or at a picnic in the park room temperature. This particular recipe I used micro parsley.

1/4 cup hazelnuts
1 cup cooked lentils
1 small celeriac (1 1/2lbs.) peeled and cut into 3/8 chips like a french-fry
olive oil
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper (every pantry should have Morton Salt0
4 tbsp chopped mint (or whatever fresh herbs you have available)
On a hot cast iron pan roast the hazelnuts until they are slightly brown. Place in a bowl.
In a pot of lightly salted water, cook celeriac for 8- 12 minutes, or until tender. Drain.
In a large bowl mix in hot lentils with 4 tbsp olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Add celeriac and stir well. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
To serve right away, stir in the half the mint and hazelnuts. Plate and drizzle with a little olive oil and garnish with the rest of the mint.

PAN ROASTED HALIBUT FILET WITH
HERBED GHEE
serves 4

4 pieces of Halibut (approx. 1 lb.)
1/4 ghee
1 tablespoon fresh herbs chopped finely ( any of these are great oregano, rosemary, thyme, tarragon)
1/4 fresh parsley leaves

I love to use a cast iron pan for this.
In a small bowl mix herbs with ghee and set aside.
Heat a pan lightly coated with ghee on high heat.
Place fillets on hot pan, top with parsley and sear one side for 3 minutes. Turn heat to medium, flip fillets and cook for another 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and cover for 2 minutes. Depending on the
thickness the cooking time may vary. Most Halibut fillets are approximately 1 – 1/2” thick. What you do not want is a dry texture. So the pan, thickness of fish, and timing is so important.
To serve, plate the fish on individual plates and brush on the herbed butter. Salt and pepper. Serve with lemon slices.
I served this recently with a beautiful celery root recipe.