If you’ve ever had hot toasted hazelnuts straight from the oven then you’ll understand how wonderful the unique taste and aroma can be.

While I love hazelnuts, I’m not really one for all the cakes, cookies, and other sweets they pop up in. I’m just not a sweet tooth, I guess. When it comes to dessert menus, I typically go for the cheese platter. So in an effort to recruit hazelnuts over to Team Savory, I began messing around and pairing them with cheese. I was reminded of this wonderful Spanish seafood dish I once had in a romesco sauce. Romesco is a garlicky puree of tomatoes, peppers and almonds. A traditional sauce of Barcelonan cuisine, it can be made with hazelnuts instead -- which is terribly convenient, seeing the Northwest (Oregon, particularly) produces nearly 99% of hazelnuts (or filberts) grown in the United States. Because local growers wait into the twilight of autumn, when hazelnuts fall on their own, what’s at the market today should be very fresh (and in the month of January, when few things are!).

Romesco has a bold, nutty flavor that warms the soul with each bite. Just like the bright flavors of zesty pesto with pine nuts, which set off fresh mozzarella in summer months, romesco paired with big flavor cheeses like Swiss and brie has a similar effect in winter. Hazelnuts and cheese, mmm! Add in a few salty slices of roast turkey breast to bring it all together and you’ll have a grilled cheese sandwich that tastes like your own fondue party on a chair lift.

For accompaniment, celery root provides for a crisp and clean winter salad that eases the guilt from all that cheesy goodness. Roots of all sorts are winter’s bounty. Beets, carrots, parsnips, and turnips all can lend inspiration to a whole rolodex of recipes. Celery root, or celeriac, is actually a different kind of celery, not just the root of the stalks we typically reach for at the store. Given celeriac’s gnarly appearance, it’s often passed over in the produce section. Though, with the aid of a sharp vegetable peeler, the twisted dirty exterior can be discarded to reveal celery’s older, better educated brother -- just back from his Rhodes exchange in Oxford. The flavor is so sweet and refined; don’t even dare put peanut butter and raisins on this fellow.

Ingredients

For romesco

    * 2 canned tomatoes
    * 1 cup toasted hazelnuts, husk removed (about 2 1/2 ounces)
    * 1/2 cup roasted red peppers (can or jar), coarsely chopped
    * 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
    * 2 garlic cloves, chopped
    * 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
    * 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt
    * 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

For sandwiches

    * A rustic baguette (cut into 6 inch portions and sliced lengthwise)
    * 2 slices Swiss each
    * 1 ¼ inch slice of brie each
    * 3 slices of roast turkey each

*Special equipment: Panini grill, griddle, or two hot cast iron skillets

Preparation

Toast hazelnuts in a small skillet over medium heat with 1 teaspoon olive oil and stir until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer nuts to a plate and cool. Add cooled hazelnuts into a food processor; add tomato, roasted red peppers, remaining olive oil, garlic, paprika, vinegar, salt,  then puree. Transfer romesco sauce to bowl.

Layer turkey and cheese on the bottom bread, then spread romesco sauce evenly on the other side of bread. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and grill sandwiches until bread is golden brown and cheese melts, pressing occasionally to compact with large spatula, about 5 minutes per side.


Ingredients

    * 1 pound celery root, peeled and julienned
    * 1 ½ teaspoon salt
    * 1 ½ teaspoon lemon juice
    * 2 tablespoons stone ground mustard
    * 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
    * ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
    * scant ground cinnamon and black pepper
    * handful of coarsely chopped fresh parsley

* Special equipment: a mandolin or food processor with a fine slicing feature

Preparation

Peel the celery root and cut into 1/8 inch thick sticks using a mandolin or food processor. In a bowl combine with lemon juice and salt and allow the root to soften for about a half an hour in the refrigerator. In a separate bowl, whisk together the mustard, oil, vinegar, and spices until smooth and even in texture. Combine the dressing with the celery root and return to the refrigerator for another hour to marinate. Just before serving, toss with the fresh parsley.