A Better Chicken Dinner Part 2: Organic Chicken Breast, Celery Root Puree, Spring Vegetables, & Pickled Radish
Prep time: 30 mins. Cook time: 30 mins. Serves: 2
The carrots and asparagus are intentionally given minimal attention here , in order to bring out their freshness and true flavor. Simply seasoning with salt and pepper and roasting will bring out natural sugars and give a clean, fresh palate to work with.
Celery root is exactly what it sounds like, the tuber that celery stalks grow from. It has the vegetative taste of celery with the earthiness of a russet potato. Simmered until very tender and then pureed with buttermilk and butter gives it a mashed potato like texture while retaining most of the original flavor.
Ingredients:
- 1 whole split chicken breast
- 1 whole celery root; peeled and cubed
- 1 large leek; sliced
- 4 whole carrots; peeled
- ½ lb asparagus
- 1 radish; sliced very thin
- ⅓ cup white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 tsp celery seeds
- 3 tbsp butter; divided
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil; divided
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup fresh parsley; chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small saucepan, add vinegar, tbsp salt, sugar, and celery seed. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. When vinegar mix is hot, pour over sliced radish. Set aside and allow radish to pickle while you prepare the rest of your components.
Place a sauce pan over medium and add cubed celery root and water. Simmer celery root until very tender. Strain celery root and add to a food processor. Puree celery root, adding in 1 tbsp butter and buttermilk, until very smooth. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Place a saute pan over medium heat with remaining butter. Add leeks and season well with salt. Allow the leeks to gradually cook down and become tender, occasionally stirring and adding a tbsp of water to make a light sauce.
While the leeks are cooking, place a large skillet or saute pan over high heat with 2 tbsp of vegetable oil. When the pan is very hot, place your chicken breast skin side down in the pan. Immediately place the pan in the oven and roast chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 160, about 15 minutes. Flip the chicken over about halfway through the cooking time to ensure it cooks evenly.
Meanwhile, add remaining vegetable oil to a saute pan and add carrots, seasoning with salt and pepper. Place the pan in the oven and allow the carrots to roast until fork tender, about 10 mins. Halfway through the cook time, add in the asparagus and roast both vegetables together. Slice carrots in half to plate once they are finished.