Roots Anna Recipes

FRENCH ROOTS ANNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put garlic into an ovenproof ramekin, and drizzle with oil. Roast garlic until light brown and tender, about 20 minutes. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Peel garlic, cut into thin slices, and set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch nonstick ovenproof skillet, swirling skillet to coat bottom and sides. Remove from heat. Starting at sides, arrange about half of the rutabaga slices, slightly overlapping, in a circular pattern, covering bottom; press. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt, a pinch of pepper, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, and a third of the roasted garlic; dot with 1 tablespoon butter. Repeat process with potato slices, and then remaining rutabaga slices, for 2 more layers (do not sprinkle thyme on top layer).
• Butter a large piece of foil with remaining tablespoon butter. Cover skillet tightly with foil, buttered side down. Place another skillet on top to weigh down. Bake until vegetables are tender, 50 to 60 minutes.
• Transfer to a wire rack; let cool 15 minutes. Remove foil, and invert carefully onto a serving dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme. Serve immediately, or refrigerate in an airtight container up to 1 day; reheat in a 300 degrees oven to serve.

ROOT VEGETABLES ANNA

Steps:

• Spray 9 1/2-inch-diameter nonstick oven-proof skillet with vegetable oil spray; add 2 tablespoons melted butter. Arrange half of potato rounds in skillet, overlapping in concentric circles. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Alternate celery root slices and turnip slices atop potatoes in overlapping concentric circles. Sprinkle with rosemary, then lightly with salt and pepper. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Top with remaining potato slices in overlapping concentric circles. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Press with spatula to compact.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook vegetables over medium heat 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook until bottom layer is golden, about 25 minutes. Uncover and drizzle with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Transfer skillet to oven; bake uncovered until vegetables are very tender and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Run small knife around vegetables to loosen from skillet. Place large platter atop skillet. Using pot holders, firmly hold skillet and platter together and invert vegetables onto platter. Cut into wedges and serve.

ROOTS ANNA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place garlic in an ovenproof ramekin; drizzle with olive oil. Roast until light brown and very soft, about 20 minutes. Remove garlic from oven, and let stand until cool enough to handle. Peel garlic, cut into slices, and set aside. Reduce heat to 425 degrees.
• Meanwhile, peel potatoes, and slice them as thinly as possible; place them in a bowl, and put damp paper towel on top to keep them from turning brown. Peel rutabaga, and cut in half, slice as thinly as possible, and cover with a damp paper towel.
• In a 10-inch nonstick ovenproof skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter, swirling pan to coat bottom and sides. Remove from heat. Starting at the sides of the pan, arrange about half of the rutabaga slices in overlapping concentric circles, covering bottom of pan; press to compress. Sprinkle rutabaga with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, and a third of the roasted garlic; dot with 1 tablespoon butter.
• Arrange the potato slices in tight concentric circles over the rutabaga, and press down. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, and another third of the garlic; dot with 1 tablespoon butter. Arrange remaining rutabaga on top, and season again with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and remaining garlic; dot with 1 tablespoon butter.
• Spread a large piece of aluminum foil with remaining tablespoon butter. Cover skillet tightly with the foil, buttered side down. Place a cast-iron skillet on the foil to weigh it down, and transfer to the oven. Bake until vegetables are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 50 to 60 minutes.
• Remove pan from oven, and let stand on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove foil, and invert roots carefully onto a serving dish. Garnish with remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme, and serve warm. This can be made ahead of time and reheated.

POMMES ANNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
• Heat a medium nonstick or well seasoned cast iron skillet over medium to medium-low heat. With a sharp knife or box grater, slice the potatoes as thinly as possible. Pat the potato slices dry on a kitchen towel. Start to arrange 1 layer of overlapping potato slices over the bottom of the pan in concentric circles. Pour the clear liquid of the butter over the sliced potatoes, leaving the milky solids on the bottom of the saucepan. Repeat 2 more times, making 3 layers. Drizzle each layer with a bit of the butter and season the layers, alternating salt, pepper, and then nutmeg. Cook on low heat until potatoes are golden on the bottom and crisp around the outside, about 25 to 30 minutes. Shake the pan back and forth several times while cooking to keep from sticking.
• Pour off any excess butter into a small bowl and reserve. Place a flat pan lid, the diameter of the skillet, over the potatoes. Holding the lid firmly in place, gently flip over. Add the reserved butter to the pan and slide the potatoes back in. Put the skillet in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Shake the pan back and forth several times while cooking to keep the potatoes from sticking. The bottom should be browned and crisp and the potatoes cooked through. Pour off any fat remaining in the pan and slide the potato cake onto a serving dish. Slice into wedges, sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

POTATOES ANNA

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees F/200 degrees C. Line an 8-inch/20 cm baking tin with parchment, and brush with butter.
• Peel and thinly slice the potatoes, then toss in a bowl with the cream to saturate. Pulling the potatoes from the cream, build layers of them in the baking tin, seasoning and scattering over the herbs as you go. Brush another sheet of parchment with butter and place it butter-side down on the potatoes. Set another heavy dish on top to weigh down the potatoes. Bake until tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Let cool before turning out and cutting into squares or wedges to serve.

CELERY ROOT "ANNA" WITH BACON AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400° F.
• Cook bacon until crisp and crumble. Melt butter and lightly brush over bottom and sides of a well-seasoned cast-iron or non-stick 10-inch skillet.
• With a sharp knife peel celery root and, using a mandoline or other manual slicer, cut crosswise into 1/16-inch-thick slices. Arrange 1 slice in center of skillet and arrange one layer of slices around center slice in a concentric circle, overlapping them slightly. Lightly brush layer with some of melted butter (being careful not to move slices) and sprinkle with one third bacon, 1 1/2 tablespoons Parmesan, 3/4 teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon olives, and salt and pepper to taste. Repeat procedure twice but reverse direction of slices each time so that layers are even. Add one more layer of celery root. Brush top with any remaining butter and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons Parmesan and remaining thyme. Cover top of skillet tightly with foil and bake celery root in middle of oven 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake 20 to 25 minutes more, or until celery root is tender and top and edges are golden brown.
• Transfer celery root Anna with 2 large spatulas to a cutting board and cut into wedges.