Celeriac Française

This dish gives a mild celery flavour with a little beef flavour. The sprinkle of egg yolk and parsley to finish adds an additional touch. 

Ingredients

• 3-4 celeriac
• 2 cups beef stock
  
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• 3 eggs, hard boiled
  
• 1 small bunch parsley, minced
  
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Cook the eggs until hard boiled. Separate the egg yolks and pass through a coarse sieve.
   
2. Cut off the root fibers of the celeriac and pare off any blemishes. Slice 3/4 inch thick and dice into 3/4 inch cubes.
3. In a saucepan, cover the celeriac in cold water and steep for 30 minutes. Drain the celeriac and pat dry in a towel.
4. In a skillet, add 1 tablespoon of butter to sauté the celeriac over low heat for 5 minutes. Add hot beef stock to barely cover, cover the pan, and cook the celeriac rapidly for 10 to 15 minutes, or until it is tender and the liquid greatly reduced.
5. Blend 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon flour and drop the mixture, a little at a time, into the sauce, shaking the pan to blend thoroughly.* Simmer until the liquid is thickened, and transfer the celeriac to a heated vegetable dish.
6. Combine the sieved egg yolk and parsley, and sprinkle over the celeriac.

* - For a gluten-free alternative replace the wheat flour with a gluten-free flour, or use 1 tablespoon of tapioca starch in place of the butter and flour mixture.

Beurre Blanc

The is one of the classic French butter sauce. The recipe below from Chef Jean-Pierre is a modified version using dill and lemon juice which is especially good with fish, like a Hollandaise sauce only lighter. This sauce must be made just prior to serving – if you try to reheat it, it will break.

While preparing this sauce, it is very important to keep the temperature of the butter mixture below 120°F (50°C) to prevent it from breaking. (If it does break adding an egg yolk or two may reconstitute it, though it is then a Hollandaise sauce.)

Ingredients

• 2 ozs unsalted butter
• ¼ cup shallots minced
• ½ cup Chardonnay or other dry white wine
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 6 ounces of room temperature (unsalted) butter cut into ½ ounce pieces
• 2 tbsps dill, chopped

Method

1. In a sauté or reduction pan heat 2 ounces butter and when hot add the shallots and slowly sweat them in the hot butter for about 3 to 4 minutes, but do not brown.
2. Add the white wine and lemon juice and let that reduce for about 10 minutes or until you have only 1 to 2 tablespoons of liquid left. Add the lemon zest.
3. Reduce the heat to VERY low (if you pan is too hot let it cool a little before adding the butter). The pan should be cooler than 120°F (50°C).
4. Start adding the butter slowly, make sure each piece is incorporated before adding the next piece.
5. Use a fine mesh strainer to strain the sauce at this point.
6. Add salt and white pepper to taste and the dill.

For the standard Beurre Blanc, replace the lemon juice with white wine vinegar, and remove the dill. As an option add a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Watch the video by Chef Jean-Pierre here.