Celeriac
Celery Root Soup with Blue Cheese
Serves: 4, can be doubled
Before You Start
Don’t be scared of celery root’s rather gnarly appearance; that’s part of its charm and nothing a sharp knife or good vegetable peeler (we like the Y-shaped peelers) can’t take care of. Blue cheese lovers may want to add a little more blue, but take care not to overpower the celery root.
Ingredients
- 1 medium celery root (celeriac, about 1 pound), peeled and cut into rough 1-inch chunks
- 3 cups whole or 2 percent milk
- ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt plus more to taste
- 1 cup chicken stock, preferably low sodium
- 2 ounces crumbled (about ½ cup) best quality blue cheese, plus more for garnish if desired
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Method
- In a medium saucepan, bring the celery root, milk, and salt just to a boil and then reduce heat to a steady simmer for about 30 minutes until a fork easily pierces a chunk of celery root.
- Carefully pour the celery root and milk into a blender and blend. (Take care when blending hot liquids—see the tip on page 000.)
- Add chicken stock and blue cheese and blend until completely smooth.
- Return the soup to the saucepan and warm it gently over medium-low heat. When the soup is hot, take it off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve immediately sprinkled with additional blue cheese if desired.
Prepare Ahead Tip: The soup can be made ahead through step 3 and refrigerated for 2–3 days. Do not add the lemon juice before reheating because you risk curdling the soup.
RECIPES copyright Melissa Pasanen and Rick Gencarelli, Cooking with Shelburne Farms: Food and Stories from Vermont (Viking, 2007)
|
