Barefoot Contessa's rich celery root puree

This is the essence of simplicity, celery root enriched with chicken stock and cream so that all you taste is that fresh celery root flavor. I serve this with a simple roast pork and a bottle of full-bodied Chardonnay; I'm in heaven. You can easily make this a day in advance and reheat it before dinner.

Ingredients

• 5 pounds celery root (2 large)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1 Peel the celery roots with a large chef's knife and cut each one in half. With the cut side down, cut it in 1/2-inch dice, removing any brown spots. Be careful-keep your fingers out of the way of the knife! 

2 Melt the butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the celery root and saute for 3 minutes, stirring to coat with the butter. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and cook for 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock, cream, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once, until the celery root is very tender.

3 In batches, transfer the mixture to a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree until smooth. Return the puree to the pot and reheat gently over low heat. Check the seasonings-it should be very highly seasoned-and serve hot.

Serves 6 to 8

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Excerpted from Barefoot Contessa: How Easy is That? by Ina Garten Copyright © 2010 by Ina Garten. Photographs Copyright © 2010 by Quentin Bacon. Excerpted by permission of Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved.

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