Cheese Toast w/Celery Root and Carrot Salad

I was a little apprehensive going into my weekend. It’s Dan’s annual motorcycle ride with his buddies and I always get a little (scratch that) “a lot” nervous as soon as he leaves the driveway.

I made sure to keep myself busy all weekend.

Friday night was pedicures and sushi with my bestie. Saturday was spent hanging out with my parents up at their place. We filled the day with shopping, lunching, Baskin Robbins and cooking – I made the scalloped tomatoes as a side dish to my Mom’s chicken picatta. It was fabulous! I got home in time for another monster treadmill workout and then called it a night. Higgins and I hit the pillow hard and slept through the night. That’s kind of rare when Dan isn’t home.

I had movie plans today with girlfriends. We met up for the first showing of Eat Pray Love  and then headed to Whole Foods for lunch and shopping. I cruised through the salad bar at Whole Foods and wished I had access to it on a more regular basis – like it was permanently located in my house for daily lunches 😉 –  We didn’t finish up with lunch until 4:00 p.m. and I knew I wanted something light for a late dinner.

I have been on the search for celery root for a while. The food co-op doesn’t carry it on a regular basis, Nugget never has it – so when I saw it at Whole Foods, I knew I needed to get it to try a recipe I had bookmarked in my Williams-Sonoma Complete Outdoor Living Cookbook. Cheese toasts with celery root-carrot salad.

The Ingredients:

1 Ounce Sherry Wine Vinegar
1/2 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1.5 Ounces Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 Large Carrots (I didn’t peel mine before shredding)
1/2 Celery Root
Garlic Powder, Parsley, Salt and Ground pepper to taste
1/2 Cup Shredded Gruyère Cheese
Sliced Rustic Italian Bread – I only had 1/2 a loaf – I made 8 pieces and still had enough salad left over for another 8-10 pieces. The recipe called for large slices of coarse country bread – I had smaller Rustic Italian leftover from the scalloped tomatoes.

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar and mustard. Pour in the oil, whisking constantly until blended and then set aside.

Get your carrots shredded and then get to work on your celery root.

I took a picture of it standing up so you could get the idea if you aren’t familiar with a celery root. Whole Foods does some prep on theirs, sometimes they come all hairy and coconut like on the bottom bulb part.

The celery root’s flesh discolors when exposed to oxygen, so the vinegar from the dressing will help it remain white in color.  The first thing you want to do is slice the end of the bulb off. Next you want to slice away the skin, leaving as much flesh as possible.

Slice around the root until all skin is removed.

I then cut my root in 1/2 and shredded it with the grater.

After you get the celery root shredded, add it to a large bowl with the shredded carrots. The next step is to mix the shredded veggies together and add your seasonings.

Garlic powder, salt, pepper and parsley (The recipe says you could use fresh tarragon, chervil or parsley, I only had dried parsley and it worked out fine). The next step is to add the sherry, Dijon and evoo dressing to the carrots and celery root mix.

Preheat the broiler on your oven while you prep the toast.

Brush your bread with olive oil and then put under the broiler for 2 minutes on 1 side. Then take the toasted bread out of the oven and turn the pieces over. Then brush with a little more olive oil and place the shredded Gruyère on top of each piece and place under the broiler for another 2 minutes  – until the cheese melts and the edges are golden brown.

I forgot to take a picture of the melted cheese, whoops. Last step – top the cheese toast with the salad mixture and serve.

I could not wait to dive in.

I loved the flavor combination and will definitely be making these as an appetizer at my next gathering. I’m apparently going to need to invite about 100 people over, because I keep saying that after every dish I post on this blog. I ate 3 pieces for dinner and it was the perfect ending to a relaxing day with friends.

Tomorrow it’s back to the 8-5 grind. I hope everyone had a great weekend.