Live a sustainable life
Celery “duck” with root vegetable purée, lots of cabbage, shallots and lentils
08.12.2023
The main course of the Mobility Christmas menu to prepare for: You can find the ingredients, a video tutorial and the individual preparation steps below.
Ingredients
For 4 persons
1 large celeriac
400 g red cabbage
4 tbsp dark balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp cold-pressed walnut or pumpkin seed oil
Natural salt
Spices as desired (e.g. black pepper, chilli, paprika powder, a little cinnamon, cumin, fresh mint…)
4 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
1 kale (approx. 250 g)
100 g pecan nuts
400 g Brussels sprouts
400 g Jerusalem artichoke
200 g beetroot
200 g carrots
8 shallots
100 g black or brown lentils, fast-cooking or soaked overnight
300 ml red wine
3 tbsp soy sauce
300 ml beetroot juice
2 garlic cloves
One sprig each of thyme, rosemary, sage and parsley
Approx. 80 g vegetable butter
There are many side dishes with celery (potato dumplings would have gone well too). Of course, you don’t have to do them all. With the main course, everything can be prepared a day or two in advance and then only warmed and served (store the kale crisps in an airtight and dry box, store the other foods airtight in the fridge).
Step 1:
Wash the celeriac. On a baking tray with baking paper in the oven at 175 °C convection for approx. Cook for 45 minutes.
Step 2:
For the red cabbage salad, remove the outer leaves of the red cabbage and cut into thin strips. Mix with the cold-pressed oil, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, a little salt and spices to taste (cinnamon, fresh mint and a little chilli go wonderfully well). Season again before serving.
Step 3:
Wash the kale and shake very dry. Pluck the frizzy leaves from the stems (put the stems aside). Mix the leaves with 1 tablespoon of oil, a little salt and seasoning/spices to taste. Remove the celery from the oven and place the kale on the baking tray and heat it at 175 °C for approx. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until crispy (check in between: the cabbage should become crispy, but do not burn). Place the pecans on a baking tray and bake at the same temperature for approx. Roast for 6 to 8 minutes. The kale stalks in approx. Cut 1 cm long pieces, clean the Brussels sprouts and cut in half. Mix both with 1 tbsp oil, a little salt and spices as desired and place on the baking tray lined with baking paper. The stems and the Brussels sprouts last in the oven for approx. Lightly roast for 12 to 15 min – depending on the thickness of the Brussels sprouts.
Step 4:
Remove a thin layer of peel from the celeriac with a knife. Place the bowls in a saucepan with approx. Add 800 ml of water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Place the pan on the hob and bring the water to a gentle simmer to slowly create a vegetable stock.
Step 5:
Wash Jerusalem artichoke and beetroot and, if necessary, peel (if the skin is thin, it can remain on it. If it is a little leathery, peel it off and add it to the celery peels in the water). Cut into walnut-sized pieces, place in a small pan over a medium-high heat, add just enough water to cover the vegetables and a pinch of salt, cover with a lid.
Step 6:
Remove the roots of the shallots and the outer skin. Remove other leathery peels and add them to the vegetable stock. Quarter the shallots lengthways. In a pan over medium heat, fry the shallots in 1 tbsp oil until lightly brown. Douse with 100 ml red wine, 1 tbsp soya sauce and 100 ml beetroot juice. Add the lentils. Add 4 ladles of the vegetable stock through a sieve and simmer gently until the lentils are cooked but are still slightly crunchy.
Step 7:
Cut the peeled celery into four pieces with a knife (it should look a bit like a duck breast). Add the Jerusalem artichokes to the pot. Make fine diamond-shaped cuts on the top of the four pieces of celery to resemble the skin of a duck breast. In a pan over medium heat, fry the celery pieces in 1 tbsp oil from all sides, then add the garlic, thyme and rosemary. Douse with 200 ml red wine, 2 tbsp soy sauce and 200 ml beetroot juice and add 4 ladles of vegetable stock through a sieve. Turn down the heat and simmer gently, turning the celeriac pieces over and over and drizzling with the stock until it has almost completely reduced.
Step 8:
Drain the Jerusalem artichokes, beetroot and celery slices and set aside some cooking water. Mix the vegetables with 2 tbsp plant butter and a potato masher or hand blender into a mashed potato, if necessary. add a little cooking water, season to taste.
Step 9:
To serve, add 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 1 tbsp plant butter to the lentils, pluck the sage into it and, if necessary, add 1 tbsp. season with a little salt. Spoon the Jerusalem artichoke purée onto the plates. Add 1 tablespoon of plant-butter to the celeriac, turn the pieces in it once more, then slice as desired and place on the plates. Add some of the red cabbage salad. Pluck the sage into the shallot and lentil sauce and pour it around, crumble the pecan nuts over the top, pluck the parsley over the top and add the kale chips as a garnish. Serve!
Photos: Patrick Besch