Location:
My place
Attendees:
David, Evangeline, Justine, Kenneth, me, and Wally the pug (yes, he really did eat some soup)
Menu:
Wild Greens with Fried Eggs (or "Horta me Avga Tiganita," I'm told)
Celeriac Bisque
Entertainment:
Wally was an absolute charmer, causing David to dreamily and repeatedly proclaim to him, "I loooove you."
Evey regaled us with the tale of her Gosling/Clooney sighting today, complete with photos and an excellent "Hey, girl" that ended with the phrase "Ryan and Noodle Soup"
The Soup:
Celeriac (or celery root, if you prefer (I think celeriac sounds fancier (fancier=better))) is an ugly vegetable; there's no two ways about it. Maybe that makes it even more exciting: The fact that you can take something that looks like a hairy monster brain and turn it into sheer, simple luxury.
I chose to prepare this soup because I'd neither prepared nor knowingly ingested celeriac before. Going in blind, I really didn't know what to expect. I was surprised when Evey told me she definitely wanted to come over for this soup, as she'd had an excellent version on a trip to...ummm...Colorado I think? I started the evening with a goal of just not disappointing Evey, and ended the evening with the desire to pat myself on the back (and only ever eat this soup).
It's sort of like good potato soup, but with a fresh, lighter taste. It's just so creamysilkysmooth (good name for a TLC cover band's album, methinks) that I keep coming back to the word "luxurious." Can you tell I liked it? I really liked it.
Everyone else did, too. If it's any indication, this recipe claims to serve eight people. With soup, I usually find that the serving size is underestimated, and it'll stretch a good deal further than it's meant to. Well, the pot was scraped clean by the five of us (+Wally). Call us gluttons if you must; I say we just know how to really honor a good thing.
One more thing--I might add some leeks next time (next time will probably be, like, March 2). I wanted to make some wee "croutons" of roasted sunchoke; unfortunately the market was shot of them today. March 2: There will be sunchoke.
Celeriac Bisque
adapted from Bon Appétit, November 2005
3 tablespoons butter (you could probably cut it down to two)
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped shallots (about 3 large)
2 pounds celeriac, peeled, trimmed, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 5 1/2 cups)
1 large russet potato, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
5 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
garnish: additional chopped fresh thyme and chives
Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add celery; cover and cook about 3 minutes. Add shallots; sauté uncovered 3 minutes. Stir in celery root cubes and potato, then broth and thyme. Increase heat to high and bring to boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 40 minutes.
With an immersion blender, puree until smooth (or work in batches with a regular blender.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped thyme and chives and serve.
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