One of my, well, not goals for the new year…more of an area to pay more attention to, if you will, is to cook from cookbooks more often. Most nights I just throw together whatever comes to mind and over time it gets me into ruts. We end up having the same types of foods more frequently than I would like and I find that my growth as a recipe developer stagnates somewhat. You can’t develop new ideas if you aren’t getting inspiration in some way, right?
So, I’ve purchased a fresh new slew of cookbooks and have been pouring over them for the last week. One of my favorites is the Sprouted Kitchen’s BOWL + SPOON.
It’s chock-full of whole food, plant based recipes that can be dished up in, you guessed it! A bowl.
My favorite thing that I’ve made from the book so far is this salmon with a celeriac/potato mash. The salmon is coated in herbs, shallots, and lemon juice and then roasted in the oven with a little white wine in the bottom of the pan to keep it moist. It’s amazing. My favorite part is this mash, though. Well, I should call it a puree since I processed it until silky smooth. This puree is incredible. We gave a little to my 10 month old (when did that happen) and he liked it so much that he screamed hysterically when he didn’t have any in his little foodie baby mouth. Actually, it was a little scary. I mean, have you ever had to hide a puree from your infant just so you could get a bite in edgewise? It’s all a little backwards, isn’t it.
But what I’m saying is that the celery root puree is one of the best things I’ve tasted. Top it with the salmon and you have one winner of a dish.
My version of this dish is slightly different than the recipe found in the book, simply based on what I had on hand and personal preference.
A few notes:
*Celeriac is also called ‘Celery Root’. Cut off the green tops before using. You can peel it with a potato peeler, but a knife will also work.
*Herbs de Provence is a French dried herb blend. If you can not find it, you can blend together herbs such as dried marjoram, rosemary, thyme, and oregano. You can even add a little bit of dried lavender, if you so desire.
*Don’t throw out the liquid left in the bottom of the pan after cooking the salmon. A mixture of white wine, olive oil, and flavors from the fish and seasoning, it is full of flavor and is excellent drizzled on top of the fish and around the base of the puree, as an added garnish.
Love Salmon? Me too. Here are a few more recipes you may like:
Balsamic Black Pepper Cherry Glazed Salmon
Sweet & Spicy Baked Salmon Tacos with Mango Salsa & Avocado Lime Crema
- FOR THE SALMON:
- 8 Salmon Fillets (each about 4 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 3 tablespoons Shallots, minced
- 1 tablespoon Herbs de Provence
- 1 small Lemon, Juiced
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- ½ cup Dry White Wine
- 3 tablespoons Flat-leaf Parsley, finely chopped
- FOR THE MASH:
- 2 Medium Celeriac (Celery Root), peeled, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 3 large Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 large sweet Apple, peeled, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 small Onion, peeled, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Coconut Palm Sugar
- 3 tablespoons Butter
- ⅓-1/2 cup Heavy Cream
- 2½ teaspoons Whole Grain Mustard
- Sea Salt and Pepper, to taste
- FOR THE MASH:
- Place the potatoes, celery root, apple, and onion in a pot and cover them with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil then turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Drain.
- Place the potatoes in a food processor and add in the coconut palm sugar, butter, cream, and mustard. Process until smooth and creamy. *note that the mixture may be slightly runny - it will thicken up slightly as it sits.
- Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with the salmon.
- FOR THE SALMON.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Coat the bottom of a 9x13" pan in olive oil. Place the salmon fillets in the pan (do not place them so close together that they are touching).
- In a small bowl, stir together the olive oil, shallots, herbs de provence, and lemon juice.
- Season the salmon well with salt and pepper.
- Coat the top of the fillets with the shallot mixture, covering all surfaces of the fish.
- Pour the white wine into the bottom of the pan.
- Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until salmon is just cooked through in the middle.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle the chopped parsley over the tops of the fillets.
- Serve the salmon over the top of the celeriac/potato mash. Drizzle a little bit of the white wine cooking liquid over the top of the salmon, if you like.
Recipe slightly adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen book, ‘Bowl + Spoon’
