Pork chops and Celery-root puree

After watching Healthy Appetite last Saturday I was inspired to make the celery root-apple puree with cider gravy.  According to Ellie most markets have celery root in their produce section, not so.  Luckily the third grocery store was a success, otherwise this would have been pork chops, rolls, and green beans, which wouldn’t have been nearly as exciting or ugly.  Have you ever seen the root of celery? Good googa mooga.  It’s sinfully gross. 

So… does this thing taste as bad as it looks?  Or does it make up for it’s appearance in taste?  The texture of the puree was quite moist, but somehow it made my mouth feel like it was drying out.   The taste was as you can imagine, like eating pureed celery, and personally I prefer celery sticks with peanut butter 🙂  Perhaps just celery-root was a bit much, maybe next time I’ll mix it with mashed potatoes?  I don’t think the puree is going to be a repeat.  On a positive note, the cider gravy was terrific. 

Pork w/cider gravy = yum, Celery-root puree = not so much 

Puree and gravy recipe from Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger

Ingredients

Puree:

• 1-pound celery root, peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes
• 1/4 small onion, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 Golden Delicious apple, peeled, cored and cut into large chunks
• 3 sage leaves (I used powdered sage)
• 1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I used beef broth)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Pork chops:

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 – 1 inch thick pork chops
• Onion powder
• Salt
• Sugar
• Paprika

Gravy:

• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 2 shallots, minced (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 3 tablespoons chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Make Puree:

Combine celery root, onion, apple, sage and chicken broth in a 4-quart saucepan, Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, until celery root is tender. Remove sage leaves and drain stock, reserving liquid. Place cooked mixture into a food processor with salt and add 1/2 cup reserved liquid, then more liquid by the tablespoon to achieve desired consistency. Puree for 30 seconds until smooth. Reserve (mixture will stay warm in food processor bowl for about 30 minutes).

Make Pork chops:

Heat oil in a medium-sized frying pan over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle all the pork chop dry ingredients on one side.  Place pork chops in pan seasoned side down, cook for about 2 minutes and turn heat down to medium and cook for 2 more minutes.  While cooking season the other side.  Flip and cook for about 5 more minutes.  (note to reader: the cooking time is an estimate so check temperatures or slash, just make sure it’s cooked)

Make Gravy:

Heat oil in a medium-sized saute pan over medium heat, Saute shallots, stirring often, until soft and translucent but not brown about 5 minutes. Add apple cider and cook until all but 2 tablespoons of the cider has been cooked away and shallots are glazed with reduced cider, about 4-5 minutes. Add chicken broth, vinegar and salt and cook an additional 2 minutes. To serve, spoon 1 cup puree onto a plate. Top with 4 slices of pork and 1 1/2 tablespoons cider gravy.  (I added a pat of butter for richness and shine)