Warm Parsnip & Carrot Salad With Candied Celery Leaves

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Yes, it’s March, but I wanted to share with you a recipe from our February Menu that was featured in Chalkboard Magazine. It’s a play on potato salad and uses typically discarded parts of celery stalks, their leaves which also are a great addition raw tossed with olive oil and vinegar. This salad is really filling on it’s own but works as a great side too.

Warm Parsnip and Carrot Salad with Fertile Egg & Candied Celery Leaves

Serves 6-8 people

Equipment you will need:

Cutting Board

Chefs Knife

Peeler

Mixing Bowl

Cookie Sheet/Baking Pan

Aluminum Foil

Medium Stock Pot with salted water (salty like the sea with 4-5 tablespoons white wine vinegar)

Bowl with Ice water to cool Eggs

Spyder/Slotted Spoon

Large Saute Pan

Carrots & Parsnips:

8 Medium Carrots, peeled and cut in different shapes but similar sizes

8 Medium Parsnips, peeled and cut in different shapes but similar sizes

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

1 sprig Rosemary, leaves only

4 eggs, fertile if possible

2 cloves Garlic, smashed with a knife

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Candied Celery:

4 Celery Hearts, Sliced in 1/2 inch pieces (this is the white center of the celery that is delicate and sweet)

The leaves from 3-4 heads of Celery, washed

1/2 cup Sugar

1 Cup White balsamic or White Wine Vinegar

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

PROCEDURE:

Bring pot of water to boil, it should taste salty like the sea and have a little vinegar acidity. This is great for all blanching and boiling water because it helps break down the vegetables & your seafood/chicken faster with less cooking time in the water as well as allows for a level of preservation should you have leftovers for a few extra days. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line cookie sheet with aluminum foil drizzled with Olive Oil and smeared to cover aluminum foil. You do this because the natural sugars in the carrots and parsnips will caramelize and you don’t want them to stick to the pan because those tidbits are too valuable to the salads flavor. This will help caramelize potatoes, sweet potatoes or other root vegetables for future cooking recipes.

To make the Candied Celery: 

Toss Celery Hearts with Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper. In the large sauce pan over high heat, quickly saute celery hearts until lightly translucent, add sugar and allow sugar to release liquid from the celery, cook for 1 minute. Add Vinegar and reduce for 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool to room temperature. When cooled, fold in Celery Leaves. This will hold up to 10 days in the refrigerator and makes a great addition to salads, sandwiches and prepared salads especially Chicken Salad. 

To make the Parsnip & Carrot Salad:

Blanch Carrots and Parsnips in salted water for 2 minutes at a rolling boil. Remove from water and toss in mixing bowl with olive oil, crushed garlic, rosemary leaves, salt and pepper. Spread evenly on baking sheet and roast in oven until the tips burn a little bit, about 15 minutes.

While the parsnips and carrots are roasting, submerge the eggs in the boiling water and set timer for four minutes. When four minutes is up, turn off burner and allow to sit in hot water for an additional 5 minutes, transfer eggs to ice water to cool. Peel and cut into wedges.

When Carrots & Parsnips are ready remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly outside of the oven. They should remain warm but not too hot to  snack on. Transfer to a mixing bowl and toss lightly with a couple tablespoons of your Candied Celery. (add more or less depending how how sweet you like it). I like to add some raw spinach as well to make it more hearty and colorful. Plate it up in you favorite platter and arrange boiled eggs and drizzle with Olive oil left from the roasting pan or fresh from the bottle, a little sea salt and maybe some fresh chopped chive, dill or parsley. 

Photo: Yolk & Flour