Over the past summer I have had the opportunity to spend many Saturdays at the Farmer’s Market and it has really opened my eyes to availability and seasonality of foods. When you shop at the grocery store you see the same fruit and vegetables stocking the aisles nearly every month of the year but at the Farmer’s Market you see exactly when food is available and at it’s peak – because if it’s not, you probably won’t be able to find it. I’ve also found that if you are looking for something a little bit more unique you likely won’t find it at Superstore or Save On but you can almost always find it at the City Market on 104 Street!

Celery root is something that I have never used before in cooking and I actually didn’t even know what it looked like. So when I was wondering around Kuhlmann’s I had to ask someone to send me in the right direction and boy am I happy they did! Here’s a photo of what celery root or celeriac looks like:

Anyways, I found a recipe for Chicken Milanese with Celery Root Puree on the Canadian Living website and I was excited to try it out (after looking at three different grocery stores for celery root and finally finding it at the Farmer’s Market). Chicken Milanese is a Latin American dish where breaded meat fillet preparations are known as a milanesa. I lightened this one up by baking the chicken rather than frying it and getting rid of the cream in the puree and substituting milk instead.

This would be a great dish to make for friends because it is delicious, not overly adventurous for those picky eaters and looks beautiful!

Ingredients:

4 chicken cutlets
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 egg
1 Tbsp grainy mustard
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp lemon juice
3 cup arugula
1 cup celery root leaves (I added them in because they were just so dang tasty!)

Celery Root Puree:

1 celery root, chopped
1 russet potato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/3 cup gruyere cheese, shredded
1/4 cup skim milk
1 Tbsp margarine
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place flour in shallow dish. In separate shallow dish, whisk egg with mustard. Place panko in third shallow dish. Dip chicken into flour, shaking off excess; dip into egg mixture, letting excess drip back into dish. Press into panko to coat. Place on waxed paper–lined rimmed baking sheet; refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Using an olive oil mister or cooking spray, lightly coat baking sheet. Place breaded chicken on sheet and lightly coat chicken (to get a nice golden crust). Bake for 15 minutes or until inside is no longer pink.

Celery Root Purée: Meanwhile, in large pot of boiling water, cook celery root, potato and garlic until tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain; return to pot. Dry over low heat, shaking pan often, for 1 minute. Transfer to food processor; add Gruyère cheese, milk, margarine, salt and pepper. Purée until smooth.

In bowl, whisk olive oil with lemon juice toss with arugula and celery root leaves. Serve over chicken and celery root purée.