Puré de Ráiz Apio

CELERY ROOT PUREE

MAKES 3 CUPS;
SERVES 8 TO 12 AS A SMALL PLATE

Two flavors I love are the anise notes of celery root and the tartness of plain Greek yogurt. I found that those flavors work well together when blended into an airy puree. Because celery root is still quite starchy, a final squirt of lemon juice lightens the mix.

1 large celery root (1½ pounds), generously trimmed and peeled and cut into ½-inch dice

1 large garlic clove, peeled and smashed

6 sprigs thyme

1 cup half-and-half

1 cup whole milk

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

⅔ cup 2% plain Greek yogurt, room temperature

¼ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1½ teaspoons kosher salt

COMBINE THE CELERY ROOT, GARLIC, THYME, half-and-half, and milk in a 4-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the celery root is super soft, about 25 minutes. When you pierce one with a fork, it should fall apart and split in half. Get it on a really low simmer because the cream evaporates quickly. Remove and discard the thyme sprigs.

Immediately transfer the mixture to a blender. Whenever you mash or puree anything, you have to do it while it’s hot. Puree until very smooth, then add the butter and process again until very smooth. Add the yogurt, lemon juice, and salt. Puree until very smooth. If you don’t have a powerful high-speed blender and the mixture can’t get going, you need to take out half of the mixture and puree, then transfer to your serving bowl and then puree the remaining until very smooth. You’ll need to scrape down the sides of the blender occasionally. Serve hot.