as i sit here on a blustery rainy november evening, sipping my generous glass of cheap white (a guilty pleasure, i assure you) i cannot help but share this amazing, astounding, absolutely delightful experience i have created. i call it... ryuu's sweet n' savory fall root soup. made for a certain someone visiting for the holidays, i believe that this is the definitive reason EVERYONE should try the long shunned celery root. so sad and unknown, it cries out for love... and to be eaten. om-nom-noms.
an intimidating vegetable to the food preparation challenged, the "celeriac" is most commonly roasted and purred into soups, stews, mashed into gratins and other baked potato-ish dishes, etc. however, it is a low starch option, contain up to only ~7% starch content - a far cry from ye olde russet or golden potato. sweet and mild with a celery like bite, it is a great accompaniment to almost all fall and winter dishes. plus, it smells freakin' aweome, so that's a plus.
but, in this soup... ooooh my. every ingredient is palpable, every spice is present to the nose, every flavor is felt on the tongue. salt vs. spice, savory vs. sweet, a consumer delicacy vs. a seasonal staple... it is absolutely amazing, and i am here to share my new found knowledge with you. if you've a vegan, a fellow glutard, a carnivore, a vegetarian or just a culinary nerd in your audience, then you must try this. i simply pulled this out of my butt: any way you want to mess with it is HIGHLY recommended. add sausage! put some cream in it! add more veggies! i don't care, have at you! enjoy the experience - it WILL soothe the soul, as it were.
ryuu's sweet n' savory fall root soup: cook time ~ 1.75 hours, 3.5 hours with baking
5 qt dutch oven/large soup pot
1 sugar pie pumpkin, baked
1 large celery root, baked
2 medium onions, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 large-ish carrots, half mooned
1 rutagaba, chopped
1 med fennel bulb, stalks too, chopped
1 large parsnip, half mooned
2 large handfulls button mushrooms, sliced
2 teaspoons (at least) garlic, fine chop
2 quarts veggie broth, more to suit your soup as needed/preferred
1/4 lemon, chopped in half (2 1/8s lemon)
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp thyme
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch chopped parsley to garnish
1) cut your pumpkin in 1/2 length wise, your celery root into 1/4s. line cookie sheet with foil and place pumpkin and celery cut sides down, cover with additional foil to prevent burning. bake at 350 degrees for 1.5 hours. set aside to cool.
2) heat your dutch oven/soup pot over medium heat, add your rutabaga - cook until softened, about 10 minutes. add celery, carrots, onions, parsnips and garlic and cook until the flavors meld, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. keep covered.
3) dump the veggie broth in, adding lemon wedges, bay leaves, thyme (BE GENEROUS - thyme is the most important!), cinnamon, cardamom, salt and pepper - bring to a boil, covered.
4) when boiling, add mushrooms and let fall to a simmer, low-medium heat - let it stay and roll for approximately 20 minutes. by now, you should be SOOO hungry. leave covered.
5) chop your celery root into 1/2 inch pieces, add to the goodness and let simmer another 10 minutes, covered. while the soup is finishing, add small-ish spoonful sized chunks of the now cooled sugar pie w/o skins, about 1/2 the pumpkin. remember, skins taste icky: compost them! let the soup simmer another 5 to 10 minutes, and top with the chopped parsley.
6) EAT IT. so awesome. remember, don't eat the bay leaves. gross.
random notes...
mushrooms hold thyme and veggie flavor so well... like little dumplings of bursting flavor.
celery root - sweet, celery savory with a mellow finish, so cleansing on the palate
sugar pie pumpkin - not required, but a whole addition of sweet taste to round out the celery root and veggie power, sooo HIGHLY recommended.
bay leaves - SO necessary, the "dry" flavor is to DIE for.
cinnamon matches the rutabaga and c. root to a T, a required spice!
cardamom + thyme + cinnamon = AMAZING!
parsley is a beautiful finish to the sweet root body, an herby carrier to tasteful heaven.
and there, the first recipe i feel comfortable sharing. enjoy it, may it bring you deep joy and profound ideas for your next meal. peace out fools.
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