I pulled a bunch of celery up at the market last week and it came attached to a root. I know what celeriac is. I mean, I even almost bought one last fall. I remember it clearly because as I picked it up, a massive brown spider ran down the length of it towards me (TO ATTACK ME) and I screamed at maximum  pitch as only somebody who is terrified of spiders could. Of course everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at me, pointing in horror at this celery root which was now back on the counter. And when I said, sheepishly, that there was a spider, this tough looking girl who runs the stall came marching over, gave me a ‘you wimp’ look, picked up the spider (IN HER HANDS) and marched off to dispose of it, leaving me standing there feeling like an idiot. For the record, I have since trained myself and I can pick up very very VERY small harmless spiders. Because I hate feeling like a wimp. I still smash black widows and anything that could possibly be a brown recluse. Which is anything brown with 8 legs.

So I picked up this root tentatively. Upon inspecting it and finding no spiders, I bought it. And brought it home. Like a treasure that I’ve been waiting a whole year to safely retrieve.

It sat on the counter for 3 days. Every time I’d walk past it I’d stop and look at it, and try to decide what I wanted to do with it. You see I’ve only ever had celery remoulade, which is yummy, but was not what  I wanted to make. On the 3rd day I had stopped for an extended look when I heard this little voice say “Make soup you idiot.” Ok, that was a lie. I didn’t hear a voice at all. I just decided that I wanted soup and this is what happened. The voice thing would have been cool though.

And, by the way, it’s delicious. Amazingly beautifully delicious, with a slight hint of celery flavour, but it’s so much more subtle in the root. Try it, really do. Except I recommend using regular potatoes, not purple, as my soup turned purple, which gave me Bridget Jones’s Diary flashbacks (blue soup, anyone?). I’m just lucky that we all like blue things around here.

Celeriac soup

1 celery root, chopped into 1/2 inch chunks

1 carrot, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 sticks celery, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chicken stock

parsley and basil, chopped finely

1/2 cup cream

creme fraiche (or sour cream, or cream)

In a heavy bottomed pot, melt a big pat of butter, and throw in the chopped carrots, celery and onion. Cook over medium heat for about 7 minutes, until the onions are transparent and everything is looking like a soggy mess. Add the chopped garlic and stir for a minute more. Add the celery root and the stock. Simmer over medium heat until the celery root is cooked through– about 15 minutes. Add the herbs, leave for a minute, then remove from the heat and blend until smooth. Stir in the cream, season to taste.

Serve with a big dollop of sour cream.

This post is shared at the Hearth and Soul blog carnival!

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