Céleri (Celery Root) Rémoulade

Celery Root (Celeriac), or in French, “Céleri Rave,” is the heavy, bulbous stem base of one variety of celery plants. Although botanically part of the stem rather than a true root, it is treated like a root vegetable. It has a delightful, subtle celery flavor, and is used extensively in colder parts of Europe where the “root” stores well in winter, when the more typical stalk celery was not available prior to modern transportation. Used in soups and stews, or boiled and mashed, it also makes a wonderful type of slaw, “Céleri Rémoulade,” that is somewhere between a salad and a condiment.

The recipe makes enough for six or more people as a side salad and may more with appetizers. Leftovers keep well for several days in the refrigerator.

1 medium-large celery root, about 1 pound after peeling

4 tablespoons Vegan mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Peel the celery root, cutting off the twisted smaller roots at the bottom (the peelings and small roots make excellent vegetable broth). With a sharp knife, cut out any crevices left between the bottom roots. Grate the celery root on the coarse side of a hand grater, or use the coarse grater blade of a food processor (first cutting the root into chunks small enough to fit down the feeder tube). Transfer the grated root to a mixing bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Let the mixture rest five or ten minutes and mix again. Do this once or twice more, as the salt draws a moisture from the grated root and the rémoulade becomes moister. Its best to make this at least a half hour before eating time. Taste the mixture and add salt, if needed, to taste.

If serving as part of a meal, place in an attractive serving dish.

 Easy Rémoulade Sauce for Steamed or Roasted Vegetables

Rémoulade, a traditional cold, tangy condiment for seafood or vegetables, is originally a French sauce based on, or derived from, mayonnaise. There are many rémoulade versions, especially in Louisiana cooking. It can be easy to make, and at our restaurant we have used various rémoulades, particularly for enhancing roasted vegetables for catering.

Although not originally consistent with Vegan principles, rémoulade can be made Vegan succ
essfully, as shown below.

Here’s a rémoulade  I’ve made recently for steamed cauliflower. It can also be used over steamed broccoli or asparagus, or even over baked “Tater Tots.” I was thinking of seasoning it with pickled green peppercorns, but was not pleased with the outcome.

Since this one is intended for steamed vegetables. I’ve included a method of steaming cauliflower below.

The recipe makes enough sauce for food for six people. It keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days.

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup Vegan mayonnaise (Hellmann’s brand works well)

1/4 cup plant-based “sour cream” alternative

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 teaspoons wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1/8 teaspoon paprika

Minced parsley for garnish

Peel the garlic and bruise it by crushing it lightly with the side of a knife. Rub a mixing bowl well with the garlic, and discard the garlic remnants.

Place all the remaining ingredients except the garnish in the bowl and whisk the mixture (or use a fork) until the sauce is smooth. Taste, and add salt, if needed. Allow to sit at least 15 minutes for the flavors to mellow together.

Spoon sauce over steamed vegetables, and sprinkle with minced parsley for garnish.

Steamed Cauliflower:

1 small head of cauliflower, about 1 pound

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Cut off the leaves.  Separate the cauliflower flowerets off the main stem, cutting the stems where necessary. For bigger pieces cut through stems lengthwise up toward the tops and then tear the two sides apart (so the tops don’t get bits cut off). Aim for one-inch pieces, which may require splitting bigger pieces again. (See the photo for an example.)  Place the pieces in a steamer basket, away from the heat.

Bring several inches of water to a boil in a pot that the steamer basket will sit on top of. Just before putting the steamer basket over the boiling water, sprinkle the vegetable with the salt. Place steamer basket containing the vegetable over the rapidly boiling water and cover the pot.

Steam  cauliflower exactly 5 minutes. Uncover and transfer the steamed vegetable into a shallow bowl or onto diners’ plates.

Potato Salad, German Deli Style

I prefer potato salad tangy sweet-sour and with little mayonnaise. This contrasts with the glubby, mayonaise-laden, yet somehow bland potato salad I grew up with. When I first tasted the striking potato salad at a German deli in New York, I never turned back. I keep the potato skins on, which the original would generally not, for convenience plus food value. And although I use relatively little mayonnaise, the vinegar makes the salad moist and creamy.

These days, I would keep the parsley as a garnish rather than mix it into the salad because some of my grandkids, as well as other young diners, avoid foods with “green things” in them. But the parsley would typically be mixed into the salad. If desired, coarsely chopped dill pickles can also be mixed into this salad. The potato salad is much better flavored if made ahead of time and refrigerated, a few hours to a few days, before serving.

The recipe serves 6 as a side dish or appetizer.

2 pounds small red- or yellow-skinned potatoes

2 tablespoons minced red onion

4 tablespoons white vinegar

2 1/2 tablespoons Vegan mayonnaise (I like Hellmann’s)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt or to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon minced parsley for mixing in or for garnish

In large, uncovered pan with plenty of unsalted water, bring unpeeled potatoes just to a simmer over medium heat. Do not boil them or cover the pan. If water begins boiling, pour in a little cold water to slow it. Swirl the pan occasionally to gently move the potatoes around. After 8-10 minutes, test a potato for doneness by piercing with a toothpick. When tender except for firmness, but no hardness, at the very center, remove from the heat. Drain and cool.

In a large mixing bowl, stir minced onion, vinegar, mayonnaise, sugar, salt and pepper until mayonnaise is thoroughly mixed in. Peel or do not peel potatoes according to your choice. Cut potatoes into quarters lengthwise then cut them across into 1/4-inch slices. Add them to the bowl as they are cut.

Stir the potatoes into the mayonnaise mixture, mixing gently with a large spoon or hands (wear plastic gloves). Let sit for 15 minutes. Mix well again and taste. If necessary, add salt, vinegar and/or sugar. The taste should be slightly salty (the potato will absorb more) and tangy sweet-sour. Refrigerate until used. If combining the parsley into the potatoes rather than garnishing with it when serving, stir it in now.

An hour before serving, stir potato mixture again. Taste and add salt, if needed. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter and sprinkle with minced parsley if it was not already mixed in.

Succotash – Old Fashioned Butter Beans with Fresh Corn

A country dish I remember from my childhood in southern New England is succotash, a combination of baby lima beans simmered with fresh corn kernels. It turns out the combination of corn and beans goes back much further, to the indigenous peoples of the New England region. It was adopted into the earliest cuisine of the European colonists, and showed up at many Thanksgiving dinners. Its name derives from a word in the language of the Narragansett people, who once inhabited what’s now Rhode Island.

Here’s a recipe that will serve six as a side vegetable.

1 (12-ounce) bag frozen butter beans or baby lima beans

1/2 cup water, plus more as needed

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 large ears fresh corn on the cob

2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil

Heat a small pot with 1/2 cup water. When it boils, add the frozen beans, salt and pepper. Stir well. When the pot comes a boil again, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and simmer/steam the beans. Stir frequently and add a little water as needed to keep 1/4 inch or so in the bottom of the pot. Cook until beans are tender, 10 minutes or more.

While the beans are simmering, shuck the corn and remove as much corn silk as possible. With a sharp knife slice off the kernels, holding each cob upright in a shallow bowl to catch the corn as it’s cut off.

When the beans are tender, add the corn kernels and bring back just to a boil, adding a little water if needed to keep 1/4 inch or so in the bottom of the pot. The corn should simmer 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Taste a few kernels to check that the corn is done. Do not over cook.

Remove from the heat. Holding the lid on the pot, tip the pot above the sink to drain off most of the cooking water. Add oil to the beans and corn, mix well, and taste. If salt is needed, mix it in.

Serve now, or after cooling, reheat it in a casserole bowl in the microwave before serving.

Cooking Great Rice: a wonderful grain that’s naturally gluten free

Rice can be wonderful. Yet many Americans have trouble cooking it. When I was a kid, my mother rarely served it, and when she did she used “Minute Rice” because it was “dependable.”

I got introduced seriously to rice when I went to Asia as a young man. There over a number of years I got extensive exposure to it, both eating it and cooking it. I’m fussy, frankly, about rice. Rice is so important for many of the dishes I cook I’m focusing this blog post just on cooking rice.

While Americans consider rice an accompaniment or side dish, for most Asians, rice is the central dish and the curries, stir-fries, etc., are the accompaniments or “with-rice” dishes. Rice is the principal food for half or more of the world’s population, so much so that in several languages, including Chinese, Thai and Malay/Indonesian, you can’t simply “eat. Rather you “eat rice,” even if it’s non-rice food. Those languages also have at least three words meaning rice, one for the plant, one for the harvested grains, and one for cooked rice. 

Here’s the tried-and-true Asian top-of-the-stove cooking method, sometimes called “steaming.” And although nowadays most people in east Asia use electric rice cookers, which simplify the cooking process plus keep the rice hot afterwards, until recent generations, everyone cooked their rice over fire. The stove-top cooking method should work in any American kitchen. But I’ll also mention cooking with a rice cooker, since if you are serious about rice, you’ll eventually use one. For the wonderful and complex seasoned rice dishes, from pilaf to biryani to Mexican yellow rice to Louisiana jambalaya and dirty rice, the cooking methods are different and individual. I’ll describe those with the particular recipes as I add them to the blog.

My two favorite types of high-quality white rice available in the US are 1) Thai Jasmine rice, which I use for Southeast and Chinese cooking, and 2) Basmati, a wonderful, fluffy, very long-grained rice from India and Pakistan, which I use with curries and Middle Eastern dishes. American long-grained rice is more like the Indian rice, and is cooked like it. Both at home and at our restaurant, I use principally Thai Jasmine rice and Indian Basmati rice. (Brown rice is almost a different grain, and not traditionally used with Thai, Chinese or Indian dishes. I’ll deal with brown rice at another time, since it has its place.) Various other rices here have their special roles, including Arborio for Italian risotto, Japanese rice for sushi, and American medium-grained rice, which is common in Louisiana, Caribbean and Mexican rice dishes. I’ll  focus here on the two I cook most, Jasmine and Basmati.

There are important differences in cooking the two types of white rice, the most important being the amount of water used with the rice. There are several “tricks” that apply to both types of rice: The first is buying good rice; next is rinsing and draining the rice; third is using no salt (however, salt is used in some complex, seasoned rice dishes); fourth is using the correct proportion of water to rice; and finally is not stirring or even uncovering the rice while it’s cooking.

“Steamed” White Jasmine Rice (Thai and Chinese style)

Serves six to eight. Leftover rice can be successfully reheated in a microwave.

2 cups long grain white rice (Thai Jasmine; not Uncle Ben’s or Basmati)
2-1/8 cups water
NO salt

Place rice in heavy pot and rinse twice with cool water, draining while holding the rice in with your hand cupped along the edge of the pot.

Add 2-1/8 cups cool water and bring to a boil, uncovered. Do not stir, but boil 30 seconds, cover pot tightly, and reduce heat to lowest setting. Simmer 20 minutes without opening. Turn off heat and let sit 10 minutes, still covered. Uncover and fluff rice gently with fork. Cover until needed.

Cooking Basmati Rice, for Indian or Middle Eastern food

Serves six to eight. Leftover rice can be successfully reheated in a microwave.

2 cups long grain white rice (preferably Indian Basmati, or Mahatma, long grain rice; not Uncle Ben’s “converted” rice)
2-1/2 cups water

NO salt

Place rice in heavy pot and rinse twice with cool water, draining while holding the rice in with your hand cupped along the edge of the pot.

Add 2-1/2 cups cool water and bring to a boil, uncovered. Do not stir, but boil 30 seconds, cover pot tightly, and reduce heat to lowest setting. Simmer 20 minutes without opening. Turn off heat and let sit 10 minutes, still covered. Uncover and fluff rice gently with fork. Cover until needed.

Rice Cooker Method

Follow either of the recipes above, except rinse and drain the rice in the rice cooker container rather than a pot. Add the same amount of water as in the recipes above. Cover rice cooker and turn it on, not opening the lid until cooking is complete. When the rice cooker turns off (switching to “warm”), keep the cover on and let sit ten minutes before fluffing the rice. Cover the fluffed rice and it will stay hot for hours while the cooker is still plugged in.

Turkish White Bean Salad

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage with Apple

I’ve been making this dish for many years, typically to accompany a roast. For the last fifteen years or so we have sold it by the quart at the restaurant as a side dish with the Thanksgiving items that many of our customers order for the holiday. 

Here's how I make it.

1 medium red cabbage

1 large apple

10 whole allspice berries

4-inch strip of orange zest, peeled preferably from an organic or well-scrubbed orange

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

5 tablespoons cider vinegar

4 tablespoons sugar

Quarter the cabbage, cut out and discard the core. Shred cabbage finely (this can be done with a 2-milometer blade in a food processor or mandolin). Peel, quarter, and core the apple and chop the quarters into small pieces. The orange zest and allspice berries can be tied in a small bag made of so-called "cheesecloth" for easy removal later.

In a stainless steel or enamel (not aluminum or cast iron) pot bring the cabbage, apples, allspice, orange peel, pepper, salt, and 1/2 cup water to a boil. Simmer, covered, stirring from time to time and adding a little water to keep some liquid on the bottom of the pan. Cook until cabbage is tender and the apple has broken up (about 20 min). 

Remove the cloth bag or if it wasn’t used remove the orange peel and allspice berries as you see them. Add the vinegar and sugar plus salt to taste. Simmer about 5 minutes. The color will become a bright crimson red. Taste and add more sugar, vinegar, and/or salt to your taste. The flavor should be delicately sweet-sour.

The dish is best if made ahead and reheated to serve. Re-check the salt before serving.