Celery Root Soup

Difficulty:

1/5

Ease of Preparation: Easy

Yield: 4-5 servings

Chef Siobhan Detkavich is cooking for… Virgo! So… what does an Earth sign ruled by Mercury eat? You simply can’t cook a meal for a Virgo without featuring extra virgin olive oil. Warm, healing, and creamy celery root soup is an earthy treat especially designed to please the Virgo in your life.

Ingredients:

Pumpernickel Croutons:

4 cups (950 ml) pumpernickel bread, cut in ¾ inch (18 mm) cubes
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Celery Root Soup:

2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
1 medium leek, cleaned and chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 pound (454 g) celery root, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon (15 ml) celery seeds
1 quart (1 L) low sodium vegetable broth
1 2-inch (5 cm) piece ginger, sliced
½ bunch parsley, stems, leaves reserved for garnish
2 bay leaves
½ cup (120 ml) whipping cream
½ lemon, juice
Salt and white pepper

Garnish:

Olive oil, to drizzle
Cracked black pepper, to finish
Celery leaves, to garnish
Parsley Leaves (see above), to garnish

Method:

For the Pumpernickel Croutons:

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C)

In a bowl, toss the cubed pumpernickel with a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake the croutons for 12 minutes. Reserve at room temperature until needed.

For the Celery Root Soup:

Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat.

Add the leek, garlic, celery, and celery root and sauté, stirring, for 4-5 minutes, until starting to soften but not brown. Add the celery seeds, stir and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add the vegetable broth, ginger, parsley stems and bay leaves and bring to a simmer.

Cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Once vegetables are soft, add cream and lemon juice and heat for 1 minute. Season with salt and white pepper.

Using a blender, blend the soup in batches until very smooth

To Serve:

Ladle the soup into warm bowls and garnish with pumpernickel croutons, a drizzle of olive oil, cracked black pepper, celery leaves, and parsley leaves.

Serve immediately.