Pickled Gulf Shrimp with Celery Root Sauce

We love our food trailers in Austin, and now it’s easier than ever to try some of their best dishes right at home. Tiffany Harelik has written a series of cookbooks with their recipes. I received a review copy of the latest, Trailer Food Diaries Cookbook: Austin Edition, Vol. 3 , and there are also versions from Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston and a new one on the way from Portland. The Austin Edition, Volume 3 is a fun collection including Drinks, Breakfast, Appetizers and Sides, Sandwiches and Handhelds, Sauces and Jams, Main Courses, and Sweets. Most of the trailers represented are from the city of Austin, but there are a few “Road Trip” locations in Pflugerville, San Marcos, Round Rock, and San Antonio. A few things I can’t wait to try are The Carrot Top from the Blenders and Bowls trailer which is a smoothie with carrot juice and ginger; Dock and Roll Diner’s Tsunami Sauce for sandwiches with jalapenos, lime, garlic, and oils; the Cabbage and Mint Salad with Poached Shrimp and Red Chile-Caramel Fish Sauce and Fried Prawn Chips from Fresh Off the Truck; and the Pineapple Cinnamon MMMpanadas from mmmpanadas. One of our food trailers that does a great job of offering each season’s best is The Seedling Truck. They offer a “revolving menu that is dictated by local farms and purveyors.” I was delighted to find their recipes for Braised Short Ribs with Brown Butter Carrot Puree, Grilled Lamb Chops with Red Peperonata Jam, and Pickled Gulf Shrimp with Celery Root Sauce in the book. I’d made pickled shrimp once before, and I really wanted to try it again. 

The recipe in the book makes a lot of pickled shrimp which is perfect if you’re hosting a few friends. Since I hadn’t planned a party, I cut the quantities in half. I used about a pound of shrimp which I cleaned and deveined leaving the tails intact. The shrimp were poached in boiling water to which had been added a bay leaf, half a lemon, and some black peppercorns. The poached shrimp should be removed from the boiling water and placed directly into an ice bath to stop the cooking. In a separate saucepan, a cup and a half of white vinegar, a cup and a half of water, two tablespoons of sugar, two tablespoons of salt, and a couple of teaspoons of coriander seeds was warmed until the sugar and salt dissolved. The vinegar mixture was then left to cool. Once cool, the vinegar mixture was poured into a bowl with the drained, cooled shrimp, and a big handful of roughly chopped parsley was added. The bowl was refrigerated overnight. Next, the sauce was made by sauteing a peeled and chopped celery root with half a chopped onion and a chopped garlic clove. Once the vegetables became a little tender, after five minutes or so, a cup and a half of water was added with salt and pepper to taste. The mixture was simmered for about 45 minutes until the celery root was completely cooked through. The water should mostly evaporate during the cooking time. After 45 minutes, the vegetables and any remaining liquid were transferred to a blender and pureed with a few tablespoons of cream until smooth. 

This version of pickled shrimp was so much better than my previous attempt. Shocking the shrimp in ice water is a crucial step, I believe. You really want to stop the cooking to keep the texture of the shrimp at its best. Also, a good, sharp, white vinegar is the way to go. It gives the shrimp a zippy, bold flavor which is perfectly balanced by the mild, sweetness of the celery root puree. I was completely delighted by this dish. I look forward to making this for a party since it requires being made in advance, and it’s a little more interesting than shrimp cocktail. And, when celery root isn’t in season, I highly recommend trying the pickled shrimp on top of deviled eggs. 

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Seared Scallops and Potato Celery Root Puree

This is a Goldilocks story. I was looking for something to make for a weekend dinner that would be kind of a special meal. I had just finished reading, and cooking a few other things from, the brand new Barefoot Contessa Foolproof book. In it, there’s a Seared Scallops and Potato Celery Root Puree dish that sounded delicious. Even though the dish seemed perfectly lovely, I wanted something just slightly more dressed up, more special, more this-isn’t-your-usual-weekend-dinner-at-home. A few days later I was flipping through Stir: Mixing It Up in the Italian Tradition which is full of great ideas and has never disappointed. There, I found a very similar dish called Scallop and Pureed Celery Root Gratinee. This was a dolled up version of the same thing with just a few differences. It was topped with crispy breadcrumbs, finely diced Granny Smith apple, and a celery emulsion. It was beautiful in the photo. But, I realized I didn’t really want to fuss with a celery foam. I can be hard to please. I picked my favorite parts of each dish from both books, and voila. I went with Ina’s version of the puree which included leeks and potato and was cooked in cream. Then, after pureeing it, I pushed it through a fine-mesh strainer just like Barbara Lynch suggested for a velvety smooth finish. I topped the seared scallops with buttery breadcrumbs and diced apple as shown in Stir, but instead of a celery foam, I used finely diced celery. The last detail was Ina’s drizzle of olive oil. And, dinner was just right. 

This is what the cooking entailed: Chopped leeks were sauteed in butter, and diced peeled potato and celery root were added along with cream and salt and pepper. I used two and half tablespoons of butter, two chopped leeks, two Yukon gold potatoes, one celery root, and one and a half cups of cream. This was brought to a boil and left to simmer for about 25 minutes until the potatoes and celery root were very tender. The cooked vegetables and cream were transferred to a food processor and pureed until smooth. Then, I scooped the puree into a fine-mesh strainer and pushed it through using a metal spoon. The strained puree was kept warm in a saucepan over low heat. The scallops were patted dry, seasoned with salt and black pepper, and seared in grape seed oil over medium-high heat for about three minutes per side. To top the scallops, panko breadcrumbs were toasted in melted butter, Granny Smith apple and celery were finely diced, and chives were chopped. Once plated, Ina recommends drizzling the scallops with basil oil, but I used a plain, extra virgin olive oil. 

I never would have thought to pair Granny Smith apple with scallops, but it was a fantastic idea. The tartness of the apple functioned just as a squeeze of lemon would but added a little crunchiness as well. During dinner, we argued as to whether the apple, celery, and breadcrumb toppings were better with the scallops or the potato and celery root puree. They were great with both, and I wouldn’t change a thing when I make this again. 

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Cornmeal-crusted Oyster and Black-eyed Pea Salad with Jalapeño Dressing

In addition to the tuna muffuletta, I also tried this oyster and black-eyed pea salad from Crescent City Cooking. I happen to really enjoy oysters on the rare occasions when I have them. Fresh from the water and served raw with a little vinegary sauce or hot pepper sauce or fried crisp with any kind of coating, they’re a delight. Mardi Gras weekend was a perfect time to bring some home and make them the highlight of a dish. Despite having said that, this salad is well worth making even if you’d prefer to omit the oysters. The black-eyed pea salad and jalapeño dressing worked beautifully together, and the dressing had me smiling long before it was all composed.

Even though it’s my preference to use fresh jalapeños, I followed the instructions here which called for the pickled variety. I assumed the pickledness would contribute to the acidity level of the dressing, which it did, and it all worked out well. Garlic, pickled jalapeños, and dijon were pureed together. Then, salt, hot sauce, Worcestershire, and apple cider vinegar were added. Finally, olive oil was slowly poured in as it emulified. Minced shallot and minced pickled jalapeño were stirred into this mixture which I will now be making for everything I can think to pair with it. Here, it was tossed with black-eyed peas with sliced scallions and diced red bell pepper. The center of the salad was a combination of julienned celery root, a task made much quicker and easier with a Benriner, and chiffonaded spinach leaves. The julienned celery root was first brought to a boil in salted water with some lemon juice. Once drained and cooled, it was tossed with the spinach.

Then, it was time to fry those lovely, fresh Gulf oysters. They were dusted with cornmeal seasoned with cayenne, thyme, parsley, and salt and pepper. Just a few minutes in the hot oil turned them into crunchy wonders. The assembly involved a mound of spinach and celery root circled about by the black-eyed pea salad all of which was crowned by the oysters and then drizzled with the remaining dressing. After this meal, I decided there need to be more holidays that inspire this kind of cooking, or I need to plan another visit to New Orleans.

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