Celery Root + Leek Purée

I got a little fancy at Whole Foods! I saw they had celery root, something I had been wanting to cook for quite some time, so I went for it. It's a great alternative to potatoes. Quite the struggle to clean, peel, and cook, but worth it. Here is a recipe of mine that I tried out:

The Ingredients

2 celery roots

1 12 oz. bag of frozen leeks

2 cups of cashew cream

1/4 cup red onion

1 tbsp olive oil 

salt

pepper

First, clean the heck out of the celery root. It can be hairy and twisty at the bottom, so make sure you get out all the dirt and chop the knobby ends off. Once you have done this, you can peel away. You want to keep peeling until you only see white (this takes a while). Place the celery root into a pot with salted water and bring to a boil. It will take around 25 minutes to cook two roots. 

While the celery root is cooking, chop up 1/4 cup of red onion and set aside. Gently coat a pan with olive oil. Bring up to medium heat and add the bag of frozen leeks (mine were from Trader Joe's). Let them sauté for a bit, until their texture changes. They should be soft and sort of fall apart a bit. 

Next, add the cashew cream. I made my own from the night before. Just take a standard bowl and fill it with raw, unsalted cashews. Cover them completely with water and let them absorb the water overnight. They will soften enough that when you blend them for two minutes they become a beautiful, thick cream.  

At this point, the celery root should be cooked. Chop it into smaller chunks and add it to the leek mixture. Then, use an immersion blender to turn it all into a purée. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy! It's a great side dish option.