Beard House Recipe: Salt-Roasted Celery Root with Horseradish Cheese Curds, Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette, and Benne Seed Crumble

Salt-Roasted Celery Root with Horseradish Cheese Curds, Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette, and Benne Seed Crumble / New England Winter

Wintertime, the stingiest of times for Mother Nature, can be something of a Rorschach test for chefs and food lovers: some see the season as a period of deprivation and tedium, while others see an opportunity for resourcefulness and creativity. JBF Award semifinalist Tyler Anderson falls in the latter camp. At a recent Beard House dinner, the Connecticut-based chef served a dish of celery root baked in a salt crust, a technique that is often reserved for fish and other protein. A salt crust does double duty, keeping in moisture while seasoning its package. Anderson accessorized his celery root with some imaginative flair: cheese curds spiked with spicy horseradish, as well as a nutty Parmesan and benne seed crumble. 

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Anna Mowry is special projects manager at the James Beard Foundation. Find her on Twitter and Instagram.