Recipe - Celery Root Gratin With Saffron And Gruyere Cheese

4 pound Celery root; peeled and
coarsely chopped
3 pound Russet potatoes; (preferable
Idaho), peeled and coarsely
chopped
1 cup Heavy cream
1 Stick; (One half cup) butter
One half teaspoon Saffron
2 Garlic cloves; finely minced
2 One half cup Gruyere; coarsely grated
Salt and pepper to taste
One half cup Coarsely chopped fresh
flatleaf parsley

From the Dean & DeLuca Cookbook by David Rosengarten

1. Preheat oven to 400@

2. Place the celery root and the potatoes in separate large saucepans with
enough salted water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until soft. Strain
both the celery and the potatoes and set aside.

3. In a heavy saucepan bring the cream to a boil over moderately high heat,
and add the butter, saffron and garlic. Reduce the heat to moderately low,
and cook about 5 minutes, or until the cream mixture is bright yellow.

4. Puree the celery root in a food processor, gradually adding the cream
mixture. Set aside. Place the potatoes in a bowl and mash until you have a
rough texture. Add the celery root mixture to the potatoes, and add 1 cup
of the Gruyere. Mix together with a wooden spoon and season generously with
salt and pepper.

5. Butter a 13 x 9" ovenproof dish (about 10cup capacity). If you prefer
to serve individual portions, you could use instead eight #4size ramekins
(each one has a 1 One fourth cup capacity). Place the celery rootpotato mixture
in the large, ovenproof dish or in the individual ramekins.

6. Sprinkle the top with the parsley and the remaining Gruyere. Bake in
oven for about 15 minutes, or until the casserole is heated through and the
top is golden brown.

Posted to KitMailbox Digest by lynnthomas@juno.com (L. Thomas) on Aug 30,
1998, converted by MM_Buster v2.0l.