Scalloped Potatoes with Celeriac

We had JTs family for Easter brunch again this year and I wanted to change it up a bit and serve some different sides. I recently started following John over at Kitchen Riffs and he posted a fantastic update to the traditional scalloped potato dish…he added celery root! Can you believe it? This change was very appealing to me because although scalloped potatoes are not considered healthy, this version is slightly healthier than the traditional version. While potatoes have almost 1 calorie per gram, and a glycemic load of 29, celery root has 0.4 calories per gram with a glycemic load of 6! While it may not make this a healthy dish, it does help mitigate some of the other not-quite-so-healthy ingredients in this dish.

Our Easter Table

I was also inspired to add some thyme to this dish as I was preparing the béchamel sauce and it was fantastic; the thyme really played into the celeriac flavours beautifully. The celeriac also made this dish a lot less starchy than one made exclusively with potatoes. I’m definitely keeping this version for future family dinners.

A warm, bubbly cheese crusted scalloped potato and celeriac

The original recipe came from my trusty Five Roses Cookbook which is now falling apart at the seams, but that’s OK, it looks well-loved!

The thyme flavour with the celeriac is a pleasant surprise.

Scalloped Potatoes with Cereriac

Serves 10-12 small servings

Ingredients:

• 3 medium sized potatoes (Yukon Gold work very well), peeled and sliced very thinly
• 1 small celeriac (celery root), peeled and sliced very thinly
• 1/2 Vialia onion, sliced very thinly
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 cups skim milk
• 1/4 cup AP flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme, plus one sprig for garnish
• 1/2 cup grated yellow cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Prepare an oven-proof baking dish with non-stick cooking spray (I like to use one pretty enough to serve from and that way I’m not messing around plating the dish). Preheat the oven to 190°C (350°F).
2. Melt the butter in a sauce pan over low heat, increase the heat a little and add the flour, mixing well to combine. Cook this mixture for a few minutes making sure not to burn it. Slowly add the milk into the cooked flour and whisk to combine and remove all lumps. Add the chopped thyme and salt and whisk well; cook the béchamel until thick (should still be pourable).
3. Beginning with the potatoes, layer a single layer on the bottom of the prepared baking dish and cover the bottom fully. Next layer the onions over the potatoes and then the celery root. Cover these three layers with the thyme béchamel sauce. Repeat the layering process with the béchamel sauce until you have used up all of the vegetables, leaving a small amount of béchamel to pour over the very top of the layers.
4. Place the baking dish onto a cookie sheet (you’ll thank me later) and sprinkle the cheddar over the béchamel. Bake uncovered for 1 hour 30 minutes or until a cake tester flows into the potato, celery root easily. Serve hot.

 Notes:

• Béchamel thickens as it bakes so don’t worry if you feel your béchamel is runny, it will be fine made with the proportions in this recipe.
• This dish may be made in advance, cooled and refrigerated. Reheat with additional cheese (broiling may be necessary).
• When you reheat, make sure the béchamel bubbles up.

A traditional dish with a new angle!

This is using Potato and Celeriac.

Potato and Celeriac, yielded about 12 portions for the dish I used.

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Another Savoury Ebelskiver: Salmon with Spinach and Dill with a Dijon Dill Béchamel Sauce

Earth Hour, did you do your part? We were the appetizer course for our third progressive dinner on our street and our course fell right on Earth Hour! We were ready, candle light, a wood fire in the fireplace, and gas cooking! It was lovely. We made Sopa Azteca (tortilla soup) but I didn’t write the recipe down (great excuse to make it again). But I did snap a cool photo of it, by candle light of course. Photo with Camera Amazing by Smug Mug and a little digital correction by Art Studio, all on my iPhone!
I used a hybrid of Rick Bayless’s Sopa Azteca and the one I previously posted.

Now you must be thinking that I’m obsessed with Ebelskivers. No, please don’t think THAT — it’s pretty harsh, don’t you think? Well, I have been making a lot of these wonderful Danish treats (see this recipe and this recipe), but I just can’t help myself. Allow me to explain: Way, way back in time, it was Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday. Of course, that cold February day, I sleepily stood in front of the freezer wondering what we should have for dinner. Completely forgetting about Pancake Tuesday and I took out two 100 g servings of Salmon.

Fast forward to dinner time, and AHHHHHK! It finally hits home that it’s pancake Tuesday and we NEED to eat pancakes. But what about the salmon? We had plans on Wednesday so I couldn’t put it off; I had to create the savoury Ebelskiver Salmon with Spinach and Dill! Quite clever, don’t you think? Without tooting my own horn too much, I really MUST tell you this is one of the BEST versions of this Danish pancake I have made so far. It’s the BEST JERRY, THE BEST!

And now for something completely different: A precariously perched squirrel.

Savoury Ebelskiver: Salmon with Spinach and Dill with a Dijon Dill Béchamel Sauce

Makes 8-10 round Ebekskivers

The Salmon was perfectly paired with the subtle spinach and earthy dill.

Filling Ingredients:

• 40 g onions (few tablespoons)
• 20 g spinach (a good handful)
• 2 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
• 200 g Fresh or canned Salmon without skin, roughly chopped into 1-2 cm bits)
• 1 tsp EVOO
• Ebelskiver batter (below)
• Dijon dill béchamel sauce (below)

Filling Directions:

1. Heat the EVOO and cook the onions until soft and translucent, add the spinach and wilt. Set aside to cool completely. In the meantime make the batter.

Basic Ebelskiver Batter Ingredients:

• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 large egg, separated
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, set aside.
2. In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolk, then whisk in the milk and melted butter. Add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture and, using a wooden spoon, stir until well blended. The batter will be lumpy.
3. In a clean bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites until stiff, but not dry, peaks form. Using a spatula, fold about one-third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the rest just until no white streaks remain.
4. Fold the cooled wilted spinach, onions, dill and chunks of salmon, and mix thoroughly.

Ebelskiver cooking directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Spray the ebelskiver pan with a good squirt of non-stick spray and place over medium heat. Add about 1/4 cup batter to each round as soon as the pan is quite hot. Maintain the heat at medium, you don’t want to burn the ebelskiver edges before the insides get a chance to cook.
3. Cook until the bottoms of the pancakes are lightly browned and crisp, 3-5 minutes. Using a fork, gently push the ebelskiver until it entirely turns around in the pan and the uncooked portion is now facing the bottom.
4. Transfer the finished spheres to a platter and finish baking in the oven while you repeat to finish the batter (about 10-12 minutes).
   Serve hot with a Dijon Béchamel.

The Dijon Dill Béchamel was a sophisticated change to Maple Syrup.

Dijon Dill Béchamel

makes 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a small sauce pan. Add the flour and stir until well combined. Cook this flour paste but don’t allow it to brown. Add the Salt and pepper.
2. Slowly add the milk whisking to combine and cook this mixture until smooth and thick, stirring constantly. If it’s too thick, just add a bit more milk and stir until hot.
3. Remove from heat. Add the mustard and the dill and whisk until smooth.
4. Serve warm over Salmon Spinach and Dill Ebelskivers.
5. Enjoy.

They are rather filling, so you only need two, but believe me you’ll want FOUR!

We purchased this salmon well before the hoopla about Canadian Salmon having a fish influenza virus.

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