Celery Root

Offer this main course with plenty of crusty bread to soak up the delicious saffron broth. A crisp Sauvignon Blanc is good here, too.

Finnan Haddie Gratin Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 2 1/4 hr

If you plan on preparing this side dish the day before serving, reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid and add it to the puree when reheating it.

Celery root gives the potatoes an intriguing new taste; mascarpone cheese provides the ultimate in creaminess.

We recommend using the freshest watercress possible — if not at its best, it can give the sauce a slightly bitter taste. (Try hydroponic watercress; it's generally better than conventionally grown supermarket cress.) Tanis suggests skimming all the fat from the cooking liquid and serving the broth as a first-course soup, garnished with toasted slices of French bread.

Great as an appetizer or a light lunch dish.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 45 min

Though the truffles lend a wonderfully rich flavor to the shrimp, they are fairly costly, so you might want to save this dish for special occasions.

These fast-cooking legumes, high in protein and fiber, pair delightfully with our healthy sockeye salmon.

Pick a small to medium celery root and peel off its hide with a sharp knife. Inside you'll find ivory-green flesh that's crisp, a bit nutty, and utterly delicious in salads. This take on a classic remoulade provides perfect contrast to the silken luxury of seared scallops.

To prevent peeled or cut celery root from browning, submerge it in cold water with the juice of 1 lemon for up to 1 day.

There is no obvious point of entry when dealing with celery root. Prepping it isn’t complicated, though: Use a chef’s knife to cut off the top and bottom of the root, exposing the pale flesh of the interior. Prop the root on one of the newly flattened poles, and, using curved downward strokes, cut off the brown skin in long swaths. Once peeled, cut the root into chunks, cutting out any spongy bits that may develop at the center.

This salad was inspired by the classic French bistro salad, in which sturdy winter greens are laced with crisp lardons of bacon and a silky poached egg. We’ll never begrudge you a bit of bacon, but here vegetables are roasted to give the salad a leaner form of texture, flavor, and color.

Boiling farro in apple cider—a move from New York restaurant Charlie Bird— infuses grains with character.