Celery Root and Quince with Olive Oil (Zeytinyağlı Ayvalı Kereviz-nimbuls)

It's the season for celery roots, aka celeriac, and quinces and these two go marvelously well together in this Aegean inspired dish.

1 celery root, ~1,5-2 lb, peeled and cubed
1 quince, peeled and cubed
1 carrot, peeled and cut in half moons
1 medium onion, finely chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp sugar
1-1,5 tsp salt
2 tbsp flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped celery leaves, parsley, or dill

-In a mid size bowl, mix 4 cups of water, lemon juice and flour.
-Place the peeled and diced celery root in the water and stir. If the water doesn't cover the celery root, add more water.
-Heat olive oil in a wide pot and add onions.
-Stir until soft, 8-10 minutes, but do not let them brown.
-Add sugar and stir.
-Add carrots and cook for 2-3 minutes.
-Take the celery out of the lemon-flour water with a slotted spoon and add to the pot. Preserve the water.
-Add quince.
-Add 1 cup of the water with lemon and flour to the pot. Top it with regular hot water until the vegetables are barely covered. (For a different taste, top with orange juice)
-Salt to taste.
-Simmer covered on medium for 20-25 minutes.
-Turn it off and let cool down to room temperature in the pot, covered.
-Once at room temperature, bring it to a serving plate and sprinkle with finely chopped celery leaves, parsley, or dill.

Olive oil dishes are always served at room temperature. They're even more flavorful the second day.
Enjoy with a splash of lemon juice on top, with crusty bread or rice, or on its own. 

Quince Dessert-nimbuls (Ayva Tatlısı)

It's quince season, and I love that you can find them everywhere in Northern California. Quince is simply unknown to many Americans but for those of us from Europe/MidEast it's an indispensable part of Fall. Quince is an apple-pear like fruit with no sex appeal on paper; it is firm, really really firm (for example, you cannot just take a bite; you need a knife), and tart with a slight hint of sweetness! I like it raw the best, but it is also phenomenal in this highly classic dessert recipe. Quince dessert, my favorite, is a traditional Turkish dessert that uses a sugar based syrup. You can find them in most restaurants and patisseries in fall and winter all around Turkey.

Although ingredients and techniques-wise this is a simple recipe, it took me more than half a decade to post it because it is a hard one to perfect. You want the color red, without food coloring though, and the flesh to remain firm, after hours of cooking required for the color, yet not mushy.

Here it is:

for 6 people

3 quinces, pick ones that are yellow with minimal green spots., halved and cored
2 1/4 - 2 1/2 cups sugar (~1/2 - 3/4 cups sugar per quince, depending how sweet you want it) and yes, that's a lot of sugar but this is a syrup based dessert so...moving on
one red apple peel, any kind
Juice of one lemon
1 1/2 cup water (1/2 cup per quince)
4-5 whole cloves

-Fill a bowl with enough water to cover quinces when halved. Add lemon juice.
-Peel and core the quinces and save the peel and seeds for coloring. Put halved quinces in lemony water to prevent browning.
-When all are halved. Place them in a pot, cored part up, and add water, quince and apple skins, quince seeds. They will give the quince a nice red color. Add cloves as well.
-On medium to high heat boil them for 10-15 minutes.
-Then add sugar and cook for two hours on low heat. After an hour and a half flip the quinces over, cored part facing down.
-Place quinces in a serving plate. Toss aside peels, seeds, and cloves with a slotted spoon and pour the syrup on quinces. Set aside to cool down.
-Serve with kaymak, qaymak, clotted cream or, in the absence of all these, oh well, whipped cream, topped with chopped walnuts or pistachios.