You are viewing this article in the AnnArbor.com archives. For the latest breaking news and updates in Ann Arbor and the surrounding area, see MLive.com/ann-arbor
Posted on Sat, Dec 25, 2010 : 8 a.m.

A delicious dairy-free gratin? You bet!

By Jodee Jernigan

Jernigan-celeryroot-butternut-squash-gratin.JPG

Jodee Jernigan | Contributor

I must confess that, until recently, I had never cooked with celery root. As a vegetarian for nearly two decades, you would think I would have cooked every vegetable known to man, but celery root was just never on my radar.

When I received a large batch of celery root in my CSA share from Tantre Farm, I was a little perplexed what to do with it. Even in my large collection of vegetarian cookbooks, celery root recipes are few and far between. So the week before Thanksgiving I was delighted to see a link posted by People's Food Co-op pop up in my Facebook newsfeed; it was a recipe from Chow.com for a celery root and butternut squash gratin with walnut-thyme streusel topping. It sounded delicious, but it was full of butter and cream. Could I veganize it? I was up for the challenge.

In my initial plan for veganizing this dish, I had the idea of subbing the heavy cream for So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer. As I imagined it, the subtle coconut flavor would add a yummy exotic taste to the dish. I love this stuff and drink the hazelnut flavor in my coffee every morning, but I would need the plain flavor to make this recipe work.

I made the mistake of doing my Thanksgiving shopping the night before the big day and needless to say, once I got to Whole Foods, I found they were completely sold out. I decided to pick up plain soy creamer, but I was disappointed as I imagined the flavor would not be as rich.

As I was heading down the soup aisle to get vegetable stock for another dish, something caught my eye. Imagine Foods, which makes an organic line of creamy vegan soups in aseptic packaging now has a Creamy Celery flavor. Creamed soups are often used in casserole dishes, and the celery flavor seemed like it would be a natural fit with the celery root. It was a stroke of luck — the soup was creamy, thick and flavorful and I think it added much more depth to the finished recipe than just plain cream would have.

I ended up taking the original recipe and replacing 1 cup of the heavy cream with the cream of celery soup (the other ¼ cup I used Silk soy creamer.) The butter in the recipe was easily replaced with Earth Balance, a buttery non-hydrogenated margarine that is a staple in vegan cooking. I also used olive oil spray to grease the baking dish to save my Earth Balance and also to cut down on fat.

The resulting gratin dish was creamy, delicious and full of flavor. In addition, it was very easy to prepare and assembled quickly on Thanksgiving morning. It was our favorite dish of the meal and so good I have already made it again for non-holiday meals. I haven't tried it with the coconut milk creamer yet, but one day I will. This is a perfect dish to serve at your next holiday get-together. It is so creamy, people will not believe it's vegan!

Celery Root and Squash Gratin with Walnut-Thyme Streusel
(adapted from Chow.com)

INGREDIENTS:
For the streusel:
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 4 tablespoons Earth Balance non-hydrogenated margarine
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the gratin:
• 1 cup Imagine Creamy Celery Soup
• ¼ cup soy creamer
• 1 medium butternut squash (about 3 pounds), peeled, cut in half, and seeded
• 1 medium celery root, also known as celeriac (about 1 pound), peeled and cut in half
• 2 tablespoons Earth Balance non-hydrogenated margarine
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
For the streusel:
1. Melt Earth Balance in a medium bowl and mix in rest of streusel ingredients until well-coated. Cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

For the gratin:
1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with olive oil spray and set aside.
2. Mix the cream of celery soup and soy creamer in a large bowl and set aside. Slice the squash and celery root into 1/4-inch-thick pieces, placing the pieces in the mixture as they are cut. Toss until well coated.
3. Melt the Earth Balance in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion and season well with salt and pepper. Sauté until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes; set aside.
4. Construct the gratin by ladling a third of the squash-celery root mixture into the prepared baking dish, then seasoning well with salt and pepper. Top with half of the onions, then another layer of squash and celery root. Season the second layer with salt and pepper and cover with the remaining onions. Place the last of the squash and celery root on top and press down to create an even surface. Season with salt and pepper, then pour the remaining cream mixture over top.
5. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the gratin. Bake until the vegetables are soft and the streusel is golden brown, about 40 to 50 minutes. Let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving.

Jodee Jernigan writes about vegan and vegetarian food for AnnArbor.com. She's a mom, a pop culture junkie and an occasional movie extra. You can reach her at jodee.jernigan@gmail.com.

Comments

100000548801132

Fri, Dec 24, 2010 : 1:16 p.m.

I think any dish with the word "streusel" in it, not only sounds difficult, but impresses the heck out of people. :) This recipe sounds so good! I am definitely going to make it with So Delicious plain coconut milk creamer, which is a favorite at our house, too.

Jodee Jernigan

Fri, Dec 24, 2010 : 12:05 p.m.

Hi Sarah, Thanks for your comment! The celery soup/cream mixture was used in step 2, where you mix the celery root and butternut squash slices in the bowl. After you have assembled the gratin, you will have remaining liquid in the bowl. You just pour the remainder over the assembled dish..

Sarah Rigg

Fri, Dec 24, 2010 : 11:29 a.m.

Jodee: Sounds good, but I am having trouble following some of the steps. YOu mention in step 4 that you use the "remaining" cream mixture at the end, but I don't see where you used any of the cream mixture before this step?