Celery Root

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Here's a colorful make-ahead starter that's perfect for entertaining. Serve this bistro tradition-called assiette de crudité-with a baguette and butter.

(Purée de Pommes de Terre, de Topinambours, et de Céleri-rave) At the market in Le Neubourg, not far from where I live in Normandy, each Wednesday farmers bring out their produce in a panoply that directly mirrors the seasons. This dish, which I make with vegetables from that market, is a celebration of fall. Farmers in Le Neubourg are really mostly market gardeners or truck farmers, or maraîchers. They and others like them are the backbone of the French agricultural system, providing from their small plots the best and the freshest produce in the country. Because they are small and sell direct, they can grow a wide variety of vegetables, which is why I can find Jerusalem artichokes alongside potatoes and celery root, dandelion greens, and wild mushrooms gathered in the surrounding woods. Though the vegetables in this dish are unglamorous, the balance here is luscious, rich, and satisfying.

This dish can be baked along with Pork Loin with Morel Stuffing, but it should go into the oven about 30 minutes before the loin does. Transfer the celery root to the lower third of the oven after 30 minutes so that the loin can be put in the upper third.

Active time: 50 min Start to finish: 50 min

Though the truffles lend a wonderfully rich flavor to the shrimp, they are fairly costly, so you might want to save this dish for special occasions.

This one is delicious made with shrimp and/or scallops, too. If using lobster, garnish the plates with the empty shells.

If you plan on preparing this side dish the day before serving, reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid and add it to the puree when reheating it.

Root vegetables have always been popular in Scandinavia because they store well during the long winter months and are therefore available year-round.

A traditional French assiette crudités (raw vegetable salad) just like those served all over Paris.

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 45 min

We recommend using the freshest watercress possible — if not at its best, it can give the sauce a slightly bitter taste. (Try hydroponic watercress; it's generally better than conventionally grown supermarket cress.) Tanis suggests skimming all the fat from the cooking liquid and serving the broth as a first-course soup, garnished with toasted slices of French bread.

"Because I love to cook, I'll use any excuse to make dinner for my family or friends. Most of the recipes I concoct are partly based on how the ingredients look—presentation is very important to me," Dave Purdy of Hopewell, New Jersey. "Here, I combined celery root with Swiss chard because the colors and textures contrast so nicely." This tangy side dish would be good with roasted poultry or meat.

It's hard to believe that there's only one tablespoon of butter in this rich-tasting side dish.