Delicata Squash and Celery Root Puree

Twenty-one (21) days. Three (3) short weeks. Millions of turkeys meeting their fate in the meantime, and billions of cranberries, too. Yes, that's right - Thanksgiving approaches. But not loomingly, in the menacing way that Christmas does, with its stressful days (or evenings, I should say, pantingly afoot before the shops close) of shopping, mind-numbing brainstorming (I can't possibly give my dad another tie, can I? I think I filled the tie quota about 13 years ago), and wasteful gift-wrapping (family and friends, I'm warning you - this year, wrapping paper is just not happening for me).

No, instead, Thanksgiving rolls its way into your life relatively peacefully - your only moments of stress being the decision about whether or not you should shell out extra dough for the heritage birds, or wondering if your table has another leaf for those four more guests you just invited, or whether this year you should make two pies or three. (Three! Three! Come on, please?)

I happen to think that there's a wealth of Thanksgiving goodness hidden in the archives of this website, so to help with your menu planning or potluck contributions this year, here are my favorite gems from years past that you really can't live without, I swear it.

Lemon Pizza
I'd serve this as an appetizer. You can bake the dough in the morning, then have a helper slather it with creme fraiche and dot the salmon roe on as your guests arrive. Eating it will keep them distracted in the living room (well, that and some nice, cold white wine) while you frantically busy yourself in the kitchen, wondering if it's okay that you never got around to taking a shower. It's Thanksgiving! No one cares.

Hashed Brussels Sprouts with Lemon Zest
I won't lie, slicing pound upon pound of Brussels sprouts can get tedious, but you can do this in the morning, in that weird moment when the turkey's in the oven and your pie dough is in the fridge and a strange quiet descends upon your kitchen. Oh right! Or else just make your food processor do the job. The sprightly lemon zest and zingy mustard seeds (that's the variation I prefer) completely transform this somewhat - er - misunderstood little vegetable.

Butternut Squash Curry
Sometimes I get a little tired of the whole English Colonial thing that permeates the Thanksgiving table, don't you? This variation is a welcome change to your usual mashed squash or sweet potato dish. It's beyond delicious (and if you haven't discovered curry leaves, now's your chance), but not so exotic as to totally freak out your great-aunt Gladys who is just now beginning to understand that adding salt to your vegetables might actually be a good thing.

Braised Leeks
I. Love. These. Leeks. Can I say more? I don't know. I love them, luuuuuuv them. Just imagine them wrapped silkily around the tines of your fork, a dollop of mashed potatoes gilded with gravy balanced on top. Is water forming in your mouth right now? Okay, good, I convinced you.

Butternut Squash Pie
If you ignored all my other exhortations above, fine, I could live with it. If you ignored this pie? I would simply throw a fit. It is the best squash pie I have ever made, including the one from The Pie and Pastry Bible, which I always thought was the gold standard. The link to the recipe is embedded in the post. Please make sure you read my notes, though - there were some issues with oven temperature and timing in the original recipe.

Apple Quince Pie
You need an apple pie on Thanksgiving, you just do. And this one is apple pie that died and went to heaven. An all-butter crust with text-book flakiness, meltingly soft quince perfuming the filling, a towering profile worthy of any diner dessert - it's a stunner. The process is a little daunting, I won't lie, but the rewards - rewards! - are worth everything.

Cranberry, Caramel and Almond Pie
Ha! See? Three pies! Of course. It makes total sense. Forget pecan pie, by the way. This is the nut pie you should be making. (Nut pie, that's got a ring to it. A charmingly derogative nickname, perhaps?) It's tart and sweet and sticky and crunchy - textural bliss and the most elegant thing on your dessert buffet. And it's a comparative cinch, too. Just remember your mantra with this one: pie weights, pie weights, pie weights, and you will be fine.

And then there's this luxurious dish I made the other night that was just meant for the holiday table. I first read about it in Chez Panisse Vegetables, where it appears flavored with thyme and bolstered with potatoes and a goodly amount of cream. But at home the other night, without potatoes or thyme and with only a glug of cream left, I adapted it with what I had and produced a plush puree that was sweet and earthy and so good that we literally ate it with a spoon. Next to a burnished turkey, it would just shine.

Delicata Squash and Celery Root Puree
Serves 6

2 Delicata squashes (about 1 pound)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
6 sprigs sage
4 cloves garlic
1 medium celery root
1/2 cup cream
1 bay leaf

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Split the squashes in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds and pulpy fiber with a spoon. Brush the squashes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Put 1 sage leaf and 1 clove of garlic in the cavity of each squash half, and bake on a baking sheet, cut side down, for about 40 minutes, until completely tender.

3. Peel the celery root, cut it into small chunks, and put them in a pot of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes, until tender. In another saucepan heat the cream, the remaining sage, and the bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, turn off the heat, and let the mixture steep.
   
4. When the squash is done, remove it from the oven and discard the garlic and sage. When the celery root is done, drain it. Put the squash and celery root in a pot and puree with an immersion blender, or put them both through a food mill or ricer. Add the cream mixture, and thin with milk or water, depending on the desired consistency. Adjust the seasoning, reheat, and serve.

Comments

[Molly]

That puree sounds so, so, so good. I've been feeling the pull of celery root lately - (and may be the only person ever to have said that?!) - and this looks like just the thing. Brilliant, m'dear!

Oh, and also, those hashed sprouts? Slice 'em in the food processor, girl! You don't have to do it by hand! Get out that slicing attachment, feed 'em through the tube, and go! So fast, and SO easy. You know you want to...

[Luisa]

Oh my God, see? It's like I was brainwashed all these years! Yes! Food processor! Sprouts! Lickety-split hashing! I must go fix the post NOW. :)

[radish]

Celery root is a great thing, indeed - and I even like the looks of it (someone's gotta love the unpretty vegetable!) - and i love delicata squash!

[Phoebe]

Thanks for the reminder about that butternut squash pie, I'm going to have to try that this year. One thing I don't understand about the recipe for roasting the squash--why does it tell you to remove the bulb end? I don't see why you can't just scrape out the seeds and use all of it. I've certainly never noticed any difference in the taste or texture in the two ends of a butternut, but maybe I'm not discerning enough. So, did you do as she said and use only the tops or did you use all of it?

[Luisa]

Phoebe - in the article, she explains that the squash flesh in the bulb is tastier, so she saves it for soups, and leaves the neck for pies (the squash flavor in pie gets doctored with all those spices and flavorings that the difference is too subtle to notice - I guess) So, there's no reason why you couldn't use the bulb for this pie. I can't remember if we did or not.

[mary]

I was just looking at that recipe, your picture makes it look dee-licious. As for holiday recipes, don't forget the braised fennel!

[EB of Spice Dish]

This is the first year in several that I will not be cramming 20+ guests into my apartment for a Thanksgiving meal. Heading to a small family get together where my ONLY role is to "bring a side dish." Squash & celery root puree. Check!

[Leah]

This puree sounds so amazing. I barely put my blender away these days. So much to whir around. One day I want an immersion blender to magically appear on my doorstep...

Speaking of purees, I'm still in heaven from Russ Parson's roasted squash with ginger and apple recipe. I finally (I'm a little slow) made it the other night, and did not (luckily or unluckily, depending on perspective) have anyone to share it with. So I damn near ate the whole thing while standing over the stove, stirring and eating great silken, cloud-like mouthfuls off my spatula. You were right. Genius. One day I'll even make those pork chops and finally have that magical pairing...

[Mercedes]

This is fabulous, some little gems here. Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday, the only hard part is choosing which dishes to make and the usual battle of tradition vs. innovation (mom has to have the spinach timbales she's made for the past 20 years, and there's no such thing as tgiving without grandmother's cornbread dressing, and since I cook I have to make them all, and don't tell everyone I didn't have time to shower).
Anyway, I'm having a party Sunday afternoon and the lemon pizza is now on the menu.

[Jessika]

Here Delicato (not Delicata) is a brand of ready-made pastries so full of preservatives they can last a year or so without going bad. They make really funny commercials though but we can discuss their products on a whole. Now, what on earth took me down this trail? Oh, delicata... the mind works in mysterious ways ;). VERY mysterious ways.

Quince is a great fruit. When in season I cook all sorts of things with it. My favourite is a persian rice dish. Will have to try the apple pie.
Anyway, I will go on a quince hunt again soon and try this apple & quince pie. The benefit of quince is that it is so tolerable you could stomp on it and it would keep form for a long time. Quince shouldn't be eaten raw, tastes disgusting.

[Amanda]

this recipe is exactly why I love fall! All the colors and the squash :-) Thanksgiving can't come sooner....

[Melissa]

What a great idea to highlight these recipes again - some of them I've been meaning to make for ages.

Sniff... If only I had a Thanksgiving to make them for!

[Susan from Food Blogga]

I made a curried butternut squash last year and adored it. One can only have so much brown sugar and cinnamon. I'm going to have to try your recipe for delicata squash with celery root. I tried delicata squash last year and found it to be bland. But with the sage, celery root, and cream, I'm going to give it another try.

[Hillary]

I have never heard of delicata squash. Thanks for the education!

[Andrea]

i love this post! and i must second the suggestion for that apple quince pie! i made that a couple years back (that may have been the only year i ever made three pies in one day!!), and it is a favorite!

i must try the squash puree soon.. i've never cooked with celery root before! ..and that lemon pizza, i'd forgotten about that. yumm...

[Lydia]

The squash puree looks wonderful. The only way I've served delicata squash is sliced into rings, brushed with olive oil, and grilled. It is delicious, but depending on the weather the outdoor grilling isn't always practical in November. Thanks for sharing the wonderful recipes from your archives, too.

[Luisa]

Mary - you know, I thought about putting it on there, and then somehow it slipped my mind! Anyway, glad you remembered, it's such a yummy one.

EB - sweet! Easy-peasy :)

Leah - isn't it AMAZING? I made it the other night for a dinner party with some friends, and it was glorious. Instead of pork chops, I used the same adobado rub and did it with bone-in chicken breasts, roasted in the oven. Damn, if I may say so myself, it was good.

Mercedes - Oh, I understand that balancing act very well. So glad the lemon pizza finagled its way into your party plans :)

Melissa - what do you MEAN??? You just have to designate a particular day and MAKE it Thanksgiving, even if you live in Scotland and they perhaps don't even know what turkeys are (I kid). It's your divine right as an American!

Susan - well, this dish is certainly "delicate" and "subtle" but I didn't find it bland at all. Squash can sometimes do that one its own, fade a little...but not this one.

Andrea - celery root's a fun one to discover. It looks a little gnarly, but treated right can just be stellar. I'm so happy you liked the apple-quince pie!

Lydia - my pleasure :) I've always seen Delicata prepared that way, but never actually tasted it.

[KatyBelle]

I'm SO glad I don't have to worry about Thanksgiving anymore (it was a month ago.) I'm definately keeping that recipe in mind for Christmas though.

[Deborah]

Those braised leeks are going to be making an appearance on my table soon. Very soon.

[Julie]

Some good things I remember reading about and some that I've never seen before. That apple and quince pie in particular is calling to me. I've just found quinces at the farmer's market and I'm anxious to use them.

[Dana]

I recently posted a celery root puree as well, and I've totally fallen in love with the vegetable! Seeing as I have an unhealthy (or possibly healthy?) obsession with squash, I will definitely be trying this recipe!

[Autre Pays]

The squash and celery root puree was brilliant. But the simmered cream ended up with a lot of skin and (nasty looking) solids. I just ran it through a fine mesh strainer, and while it tasted fine it seemed like a very lossy approach.

I also quite enjoyed the Brussels sprouts hash, which is both the first time I've ever made sprouts myself and the first non-baconated preparation I've ever enjoyed. Thanks.

[Luisa]

Autre Pays - since it all gets pureed together anyway, I didn't strain my cream. Normally I'd say that you should just add it straight from the carton, but simmering the cream with the sage and bay gives it such amazing flavor. Glad you liked both recipes! I think the Brussels sprouts are making an appearance at our T-giving table this year.