Celeriac and Potato Gratin
Recipe by Eliza Ayres
Eliza is a Philadelphia-based food stylist, private chef and recipe developer. Her cooking is rooted in seasonality and inspired by market vegetables.
Celeriac aka Celery Root, to me, is the freshest tasting root vegetable, bright and earthy and more delicate than it looks. I first came across this celery root and potato combination in Alice Waters’ cookbook Vegetables. It skips the usual presence of dairy and instead uses homemade chicken stock, allowing the celeriac to truly shine.
Ingredients
5 medium russet potatoes
2 medium celeriac
1 large yellow onion
1 cup homemade chicken stock
A few sprigs of thyme, rosemary or marjoram (or a combination of all 3), leaves picked and chopped
Kosher salt, to taste
Cracked black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
Heat oven to 400
Peel the potatoes and celeriac, then slice into ¼ inch rounds (use a mandolin for this if you have one). Slice the onion
In a medium oven proof skillet, heat one tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened and starting to get golden around the edges. Season with salt and pepper. Remove half the onions.
Layer the potato and celeriac slices on top of the onion with half of the herbs. Add the rest of the onion followed by the rest of the potato and celeriac. Sprinkle with the rest of the herbs
Pour the chicken stock over everything along with a healthy drizzle of olive oil and dab the top with small bits of butter
Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the foil and continue baking until the top is golden brown and the vegetables are tender. Begin checking at the 40 minute mark.
