The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Lesser-known veggie basis of creamy soup
Lesser-known vegetable basis of creamy, decadent soup without many carbs
One of the nicest things about celery soup is its creaminess without using any cream.
In search of uncommon vegetables to use in recipes, I turned to Melissa’s. The California-based company has since 1984 been a provider of produce to chefs and supermarkets, including my own neighborhood Heinen’s store. Through Melissa’s I’ve made the acquaintance of fiddlehead ferns, elephant garlic, jicama and horseradish root.
Last week I bought a knob of celery root, also known as celeriac, which seems to be little known in this country, although it’s popular in Europe. I was not surprised to find it was tagged by Melissa’s with information saying it could be used in the same way as a potato.
I wanted to make a celery soup, something I haven’t prepared in many years but recall fondly as a deliciously simple dish. In searching for recipes at melissas.com, I found a remoulade from chef Alice Waters that reminded me of a salad I had one spring in Paris. I obtained permission to use that recipe and offer it today along with my own celery soup creation.
Despite its name, celeriac is not the root of the celery plant. It’s a Mediterranean vegetable that can be grown here from seed, if started indoors by February for planting outdoors in May. Originally grown in marshy areas, celeriac requires a lot of water to grow and is best harvested after the first frost. The frost intensifies its flavor, which is a cross of celery and parsley.
One of the nicest things
One of the nicest things about celery soup is its creaminess without using any cream. It’s also a low-carb vegetable, so it’s ideal for those who watch the carbohydrates they consume.
about celery soup is its creaminess without using any cream. It’s also a lowcarb vegetable, so it’s ideal for those who watch the carbohydrates they consume. Last time I made it from a recipe in my friend Beverly LeBlanc’s “Soups: 365 Delicious and Nutritious Recipes,” which is out of print but can be found used online.
I met Beverly in the 1970s when she worked at The News-Herald and we stayed in touch after she moved to London and became the author of many popular cookbooks.
Last time we connected I was in London, just for the day, and we went to Sunday services at Westminster Abbey, where she serves as a volunteer. (You can read that story at bit.ly/nh-wa.)
The celery soup is easy as can be, although the chopping and dicing can be tedious. The celery root itself needs to have its gnarly brown skin peeled off before it is diced for sauteing with chopped celery and onion. It’s a very hard vegetable, so be sure to use a sharp knife. I used a cleaver to cut it in half and then into half-inch strips before dicing.
I chopped up a red onion because it was all I had on hand. Next time I’ll be sure to use a white or yellow onion because the red onion gave the soup a beige color instead of the pale green I’d expected.
My friend’s celery soup recipe suggests using a mixture of toasted seeds to top the soup. I’m giving you that recipe along with one for Celery Leaf and Hazelnut Gremolata from “Soup Nights: Satisfying Soups and Sides for Delicious Meals All Year” by Betty Rosbottom. Gremolata is a parsley-and-lemon zest concoction often used to make veal and other Italian dishes more lively. Add a little olive oil to it to transform it into a marinade or a salad dressing.