Creamy Root Vegetable Soup

The only thing I can count on with my winter CSA is that I'm going to get a lot of squash and root vegetables. I'm always browsing for recipes that use up a lot of one vegetable, but once I'm done with I'm those, I'm often left with an assortment of small amount of vegetables that I'm not quite sure what to do with. The last bits of my first CSA box included parsnips, celeriac, carrots, potatoes, and leeks, so it seemed almost supernatural fortune to find this recipe that used up all my odds and ends. Although there's a lot going on root vegetable-wise in this soup, they all balance each other nicely. The carrots, celeriac, and leeks are a subtle variation on the classic mirepoix, with the parsnips adding a bit of zestiness and the potatoes body and creaminess. Blending the vegetables makes this hearty soup silky and infuses garlic and fresh herbs into every bite. Although the particular combination of root vegetables and herbs was especially delicious, this recipe is also an excellent template for experimentation. Between plates of indulgence at holiday celebrations, use this recipe to fill yourself with healthy vegetables and brilliant winter flavor.

Creamy Root Vegetable Soup

adapted from Food and Wine

serves 4

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound parsnips, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 small celery root, peeled and sliced 1/3 inch thick
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 medium red potato, cut into 1-inch dice
1 large leek, white and tender green, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 fresh thyme sprigs
Salt
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock or canned low-sodium broth, defatted
Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the parsnips, celery root, carrots, potato, leek, garlic, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 cup of water. Cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until the liquid has evaporated and the vegetables start to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the stock, cover the pan and reduce the heat to moderately low. Cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 30 minutes.

2. Transfer the soup to a blender and puree until smooth, then season with salt and pepper. (Alternatively, blend the soup in the both with an immersion blender). Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle with the rosemary and serve.

Celery Root and Apple Soup

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you may have seen enough winter vegetable-based soup recipes to last you well into spring, but my CSA bounty has inspired me create yet another one, this time featuring celery root (also known as celeriac). Celeriac is a wonderfully flavorful, but underutilized, root vegetable, perhaps intimidating potential cooks with its knobby exterior, which makes it more difficult to clean and prepare. Celeriac can be utilized both raw or cooked and while it has a delicious celery flavor, it is also quite adept at taking on other flavors as well. This soup follows a classic formula-saute onions in fat, add vegetables and broth, simmer until tender, blend into silky deliciousness, and season to taste with salt and pepper. What sets this soup apart from that classic formula I so often utilize is the addition of a small amount of apple cider vinegar at the end, which was not a part of the original Bon Appetit recipe that inspired my soup. Many home cooks, myself included, often forget how much better a dish is with the addition of just a small amount of acid, like lemon juice or vinegar, at the end. In the same way that a small amount of salt brings out all the flavors in a sweet dish without making it salty, the small amount of vinegar added to the soup at the end enhances the flavors in the soup without making it overtly acidic. This soup is hearty and savory, most assuredly a fall and winter dish, but the silky texture and bright edge from the apple cider vinegar keep it from being too dense. Not suprisingly, if you like celery flavor, you'll like this soup, but the tartness of the apple and sweetness of the onions keep it from feeling like just a bowl of cooked and blended celery.

It was made clear to me that this simple combination of ingredients was far more than the sum of its parts when one of my coworkers, commenting on the inticing aroma of my lunch, said that it smelled like sausage-a compliment I most gratefully accepted. If I can turn a combination of fruit and vegetables into something even remotely reminiscent of sausage, I think I've done something right.

Celery Root and Apple Soup
adapted from Bon Appetit, via Epicurious
serves 6 as a first course, 3 as a main course

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
4 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled celery root (from one 1 1/4-pound celery root)
3 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled cored Granny Smith apples (from about 2 medium)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion (about 1 large)
4 cups (or more) low-salt vegetable or chicken broth
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add celery root, apples, and onion. Cook until apples and some of celery root are translucent (do not brown), stirring often, about 15 minutes. Add 4 cups broth. Cover and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer covered until celery root and apples are soft, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

2. Puree soup with an immersion blender (or, working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth), adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls to thin to desired consistency. Return soup to pot and stir in vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve warm.

Celeriac and Fingerling Potato Mash

When celeriac showed up in my CSA, I didn't have a lot of ideas beyond throwing it a bit pot of soup with lots of other root vegetables. But after I had an absolutely amazing celeriac soup with beef tongue pastrami-Worcestershire ragout, horseradish cream, and chives for the amuse bouche at L'Etoile this past weekend, I felt inspired to step it up a little. I've been really enjoying horseradish lately after making Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish as part of Thanksgiving dinner and this was the perfect opportunity to bring this ingredient into a dish again.

I chose to leave the skins on my potatoes, but you can peel them if you like. I personally like the more rustic texture and taste of the skins, but they're not to everyone's taste. I used fingerling potatoes because they are excellent for mashing, but there are many other varieties that would be excellent like Yukon Golds or red potatoes. Also not for everyone is prepared horseradish, but I think the astringent punch is great against the creamy fingerlings and distinctive celery root flavor. That said, this is dish is also excellent without it.


Celeriac and Fingerling Potato Mash
serves 6 to 8

2 pounds fingerling potatoes, scrubbed and halved or quartered (depending on size)
1 pound celeriac (celery root), peeled and cut into pieces roughly the same size of the potatoes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk, half-and-half or cream
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add potatoes and celery root and cook until tender, 18 to 22 minutes. Drain thoroughly, return to pot and mash to desired texture.

2. Add butter, milk and horseradish and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve warm.