A Healthy Way to Catch the Sauce

I am a true believer that one of the best parts of a meal is the sauce. I don’t make a lot of food with sauces, but when I do, it is far and away the best part. I once had a client offer me $100 for the recipe to a port reduction sauce I had made for a dinner party at her house. After a quick giggle, I gave it to her for free. That's how I roll. A thick, rich sauce swimming around a plate, soaking it’s wonderfulness into anything that dares block its path; heaven. The best vessels for catching stray sauce, beyond the meat it was designed for, are mashed potatoes and polenta. Relatively neutral and textural perfect to take on whatever flavor the sauce carries. However, as delicious as these side dishes are, there is not a lot of nutritional value in them. I wouldn’t go as far as to say they are unhealthy, for that is not the case, but I thought there had to be healthier options that delivered the same. Cauliflower puree was a great substitution, but cauliflower is one of those vegetables that many people are adverse to, so I wanted to find something else that would work.



Enter the celery root and the parsnip. Celery root, or celeriac, is the extremely odd looking, knobby vegetable you may have seen and pondered next to the carrots and celery. It has a sweet subtle flavor that is something between a potato and celery, with hints of fennel. Parsnips are the long white vegetables masquerading as albino carrots. Both are root vegetables that have the texture of a potato, but each more flavorful and packing more nutritional value than one. I didn’t stop there either; I added golden delicious apples and then added a potato for a thickening agent. Cooking in water didn’t quite do it for me, so I cooked them in apple juice instead. Yum. Finishing the dish with cream added a bit of a splurge, but gave the puree the creaminess that a great mashed potato would have, so I figured it was worth it. The finished product impressed two meat-and-potato guys, so I figure that is always a good sign. I have to admit I was pretty proud of myself with this one, and in the end it didn’t even need a sauce to be a new favorite of mine.

Celery Root, Parsnip and Apple Puree

1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1Tbs unsalted butter
1 pound of celery root, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 pound of parsnips, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 golden delicious, peeled, cored and cut into large chunks
1 medium yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into large chunks
½ cup good apple juice
½ water
½ heavy cream
Kosher salt

Add oil and butter to a heavy bottomed sauce pan set over medium heat. Add all vegetables, a pinch of salt and cook for about 5 minutes. Add apple juice, cover and lower heat to maintain a simmer. Cook approximately 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Check occasionally to make sure there is still liquid in the pot. If not, add some more apple juice or water. Remove from heat, stir in cream, and process with an immersion blender or in a food processor. Return to pan and add a bit of liquid of choice if too thick. It should be texturally similar to mashed potatoes. Season to taste. Serves 4 large side portions.