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Thursday, November 13, 2014

Celeriac Soup with Caramelized Grannies

Please check out my exact state of mind during this creation.  There are no (real) words that describe my psyche better than that video.
This came out of an almost empty fridge and an intelligently stocked freezer.  I had 1/4 head of red cabbage and 1 apple in my fridge.  The rest was wind blown into a piece of clay to form life.
And yes, of course I did stick my fingers in it and scream.
Serves 3
Ingredients
1/2 celiac head (celery root) peeled and cubed
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 leek, cleaned and sliced crosswise
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 handful cauliflower florets
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 cups water (enough to level)
1 cube chicken or vegetable bouillon
1 sprig savory or thyme
lots of fresh cracked black pepper
pinch nutmeg
pinch angel hair chile
1 Tbsp cream (optional)
1 Grany Smith apple, peeled and diced
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp brown or cane sugar
Some shredded red cabbage for garnish
Directions
1.  Heat the olive oil in a large pot and add the sliced leeks.  Now, I always save my leek greens when a recipe calls for the whites.  In a soup, you don't really care if there are greens because you are going to be blending that bad boy.. so now's the time to use that emergency freezer bag of chopped leek greens unless you care about the color.  Mine was slightly green in the end.. but that doesn't bother me.
2.  When the leeks start becoming fragrant, add the garlic, celery stalks, celiac, and cauliflower.  Stir around and cook for a few minutes.  Let the juices flow and combine.
3.  Add the savory sprig and bouillon cube and enough water to level.  You don't want to drown it.  4 cups was enough for me.  Bring to a boil, then let simmer for about 15 minutes or until the celiac is tender.
4.  Remove the savory sprigs.  Usine an immersible hand blender, purée the soup.  If you're feeling dangerous, do this in a blender, but why dirty all those unnecessary dishes if you don't absolutely have to?  Immersible blender is the way to go for this.
5.  Add lots of black pepper, nutmeg, and a pinch of the angel hair chile.  Simmer while you prepare the apple topping.  At this point, you can taste and adjust the seasoning.  You may or may not want to stir in a bit of cream.  I was not going to... but then my insane Turkish voice told me to DO IT!  No regrets.
6.  Prepare the Grannies.  Melt the butter in a separate pan.  In this case, butter is the only way to go.  Add the diced Granny Smith apples and cook until they start to color.  Add the cane sugar and continue cooking until nicely golden and caramelized.  Set aside.

Serve ladled in bowls with a bit of caramelized apple and shredded cabbage.

This soup hit the spot exactly the way it should.
Yes.
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