Celery Root Gnocchi with Crimini Mushroms

This dish tastes like the earth. So I'll go ahead and extend the metaphor: this dish is grounding.

This week, I unfortunately let the stress of late Winter invade my emotional life. But this, this is grounding. I spent the day yesterday thinking about capital, which may seem strange for a non-profit job (though let me tell you it's far from it). But I came home and took the potatoes, celery root, and mushrooms out of their dark homes, and turned them into this. I am thankful for that process, and for this.

1 pound potato, peeled and quartered
1 pound celery root, peeled and quartered
salt, pepper
about 1 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh chopped sage
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
3 cups crimini mushrooms, quartered
Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

Boil the potato and celery root until tender. With a fork, finely mash both in a large mixing bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste, and about 1/2 cup of the flour. Stir to combine.

Turn the mixture out onto a floured work surface. Knead, adding more flour as necessary, until the mixture begins to hold its shape. Don't overwork it. Cut the dough into six pieces. Roll each piece out into a long log, about 1 inch thick (if a log won't form, you may need to add more flour). Cut the logs into 3/4 inch-long pieces. Roll each of these pieces down the tines of a fork,* and set aside.

Put a large pot of water on to boil.

Over low heat, melt the butter in a separate large pot. Add the shallots and herbs and cook until the shallots become tender. Stir in the mushrooms. Add a bit of salt and cook until the mushrooms release some of their moisture.

Meanwhile, boil the gnocchi in batches. They are done after about a minute of floating on the surface. Spoon, and carefully stir, the gnocchi into the cooked mushroom mixture (with the heat off). Add another tablespoon butter or oil, and/or a little bit of the gnocchi cooking water if the mixture is dry.

Once all the gnocchi are cooked and combined with the mushrooms, season to taste and serve with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Serves 4-5.

* If the tines-rolling isn't intuitive to you (it wasn't to me), the NY Times offers a more detailed explanation:

"Take a dinner fork with long, slim tines, rounded if possible," she writes. "Working over a counter, hold the fork more or less parallel to the counter, with the concave side facing you. With the index finger of your other hand, hold one of the cut pieces against the inside curve of the fork, just below the tips of the prongs. At the same time that you are pressing the piece against the prongs, flip it away from the tips and in the direction of the handle. The motion of the finger is flipping, not dragging. As the piece rolls away from the prongs, let it drop to the counter. If you are doing it correctly, it will have ridges on one side formed by the tines and a depression on the other formed by your fingertip."