What is that?

I didn’t know people ate celery roots until I saw Ina Garten hacking one up on her show one day. I was intrigued by one of the ugliest looking vegetables I’d ever seen – it looked like a formidable opponent – a big roughly round shaped thing with knots and knobs bursting out of it here and there. But there Ina was, cheerfully peeling, chopping, and cubing the thing into perfect little white chunks. She kept insisting on how wonderful it was and how lovely the flavor was…but I filed the memory away somewhere deep in the recesses of my mind and went on with my life.

Recently, however, celery root is the flavor de jour. Soups, salads, roulades, purees – you name it, I’ve seen celery root in it. And Ina was right…it is a delicious little (big) tuber. It actually is the root of a celery plant, and if you pick one up at the market, besides getting wary stares from your fellow shoppers, you will see that it usually comes with little sprigs of celery sprouting from the top. It has a celery-ish taste, but it’s a little more citrusy and is starchy instead of crispy and watery like its aboveground compatriot so the flavor of celery is richer and more concentrated.

Needless to say, it’s the perfect thing to make a soup out of at the end of summer, a soup which is as equally delicious hot or cold – depending on whether your apartment is an over-airconditioned ice cave or a sweltering sauna. The recipe I used is an amalgamation of a few different recipes I found online – none of them had all of the components I was looking forward to, so I mixed and matched. The soup came out really delicious and was the perfect remedy to a night on which I’d forgotten to thaw any meat and had only chicken stock to work with in the protein department. Add some of the fresh herbs I’ve managed to keep alive, in pots on our patio, for about 2 weeks now and voila! A fresh, light, and filling summer supper.


Celery Root Soup
1 medium celery root, peeled and chopped into ½ inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 leek
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 slices smoked bacon
3 ½ cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 sprigs parsley and 3 sprigs thyme tied together with kitchen string
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and add bacon. Render out fat (cook until bacon has begun to brown on both sides) and remove from pot.
2. Reduce heat to just medium, and add onion, leek, celery root, and garlic. Add salt and pepper. Sweat over medium-low heat, stirring once in a while, until onions and leeks are translucent and celery root is tender.
3. Add tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and let it reduce until it is almost completely evaporated.
4. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and add parsley and thyme bouquet. Let simmer for at least 25 minutes, covered.
5. Using a blender or food processor, puree the soup until it has a smooth consistency without any big chunks. Add salt and pepper to taste.