~ Cauliflower, Celery Root, Garlic, Thyme ~
Looking for a simple side that’s light and fluffy but not mashed potatoes? This Cauliflower Purée is airy and delicate, a blend of cauliflower and celery root. One potato is added to the mix for a touch of heft and a little starch to prevent the purée from becoming a thick soup. The result is a refined side dish that is a wonderful accompaniment to fish, meat and winter stews.
Cauliflower Purée
The celery root, also known as celeriac, is mildly redolent of celery, and nicely balances the nutty and sweet notes of the cauliflower. Serves 6-8 as a side dish.
1 large head of cauliflower, chopped in 1 inch pieces
1 medium celery root, peeled, chopped in 1 inch pieces
1 large russet potato, peeled, chopped in 1 inch pices
Bouquet garni: 3 thyme sprigs and 1 bay leaf tied in cheesecloth
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut in large pieces
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Thyme sprigs as garnish
Combine cauliflower, celery root, potatoes and bouquet garni together in a large pot. Cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, until all of the vegetables are very tender. Drain and discard bouquet garni. Transfer to a food processor. Add garlic and butter and purée until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and pulse to blend. Taste for seasoning. Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve warm, garnished with thyme.
Very tasty! A delightful combination of flavors and ingredients.
Cheers,
Rosa
Larry’s favorite vegetable – I buy one every week at our local market. Perfect!
Looks wonderful and I wonder if my wife would eat it this way….She doesn’t like cauliflower. I do.
Hi Lynda – this sounds lovely. Do you think it could be made without the butter – maybe with a little bit of oil instead?
How long will it keep fresh in the fridge?
kh Johanne og hils familien 🙂
PS. Do you know a site, where the US-measurenments can be converted to europeian?
Hi Johanne! I don’t think oil will work well with the consistency. *Unfortunately* the butter adds an extra something to the puree that’s difficult to replace. Why don’t you try cutting back on the amount of butter and adding more sour cream to your taste – there is no perfect science, except that you like it. 1/4 cup butter is 55 g. and 1/2 cup sour cream is 120 ml. – Hi to everyone! Lynda
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The puree will keep up to one day in the refrigerator. Cover with foil and reheat in the oven at 325 F./170 C. for about 30 minutes.
Thanks! I’ll try that. And man you’ve got big cups over there 😉
This looks great Lynda, I made one similar but lower calorie and I used various methods of cooking the vegetables (steamed the cauliflower because I found boiling it made it too wet; I oven roasted the celeriac and the garlic). I also omitted potato entirely. My husband said he preferred it over mashed potatoes! Check out my post, I’d love your comments on it. http://kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/cauliflower-celeriac-%E2%80%9Cmashed-potatoes%E2%80%9D/
I’m not a huge cauliflower fan, but you make it look so good! This looks like a wonderful way to eat it and serve it
Hi Lynda,
I’m a first-time visitor, what a beautiful blog! I had my wisdom teeth yanked out yesterday, so now I’m scouring the web for soft foods I can eat. I’m bookmarking this one for my husband to make for me later today or tomorrow. I’ll report back, but I can already tell it’s going to be lovely.
[K]
This sounds lovely and I’m sure my 2 year old would reject it. 🙁
He never liked purees. Who knows, though. Tastes change. It’s worth a try. Although I’m secretly wishing that we have very little time left to make winter dishes. (It’s supposed to snow in NYC today!)
What a great idea! Mashed potatoes are my all-time comfort food, and I love the idea of changing it up with some of my other favorite ingredients. Will definitely try this. Lovely photos too.
I adore the presentation of your dish and going through the list of ingredients I can just imagine the wonderful flavours.
I love any food blog whose creator uses phrases like “mildly redolent.” And I don’t even particularly like celery!!! I will try the recipe, though.
Never had this before but it sounds like a great combination of flavor!
You’ve made the cauliflower puree so regal! And I love the addition of celery root.
This sounds perfectly gorgeous, and I LOVE your photo. never been a huge fan of cauliflower, but imagine its wonderful in this blend.
I made this for dinner last night and it was lovely! Even my husband, who was quite skeptical at first, was completely won over. And the leftovers were great with my runny eggs this morning for breakfast 🙂
I didn’t have celery root, so I threw in a parsnip, which seemed like a similar idea. Next time, I’ll try the celery root. Mine came out a little wetter/less fluffy than your photos, so I’ll have to experiment to get the texture just right.
Thanks for sharing this brilliant idea.
Hi Lynda –
This is Kim again… checking in because since last commenting, I’ve made this TWICE. Tonight, we skipped the sour cream and paired it with a cider-glazed salmon and some pan-braised asparagus. It all came together very nicely. Thank you for the recipe!
[K]