Celeriac Soup
Not every meal at home in Beaune is a six-course spectacular. Far from it! In the fall and winter, we often throw together our version of an easy family dinner–which usually means a simple soup with produce from our garden or the farmer’s market, a quick salad, good bread, and maybe a cheese board with fresh apples and pears. It’s our version of “fast, quick, and easy,” and when we’re balancing our cooking school and shop with the familiar demands of having three children with three different school schedules, it’s a dinner that still allows us to sit down and discuss our days together.
Celeriac, also called celery root, is a gnarly-looking root vegetable whose rough skin can be peeled or sliced off to reveal a creamy white interior with a fresh celery-like flavor.
Ingredients
Serves 4 to 6
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 2 medium leeks, cut in half lengthwise and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces, rinsed (see Cook’s Note)
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 fresh bay leaf
- Fleur de sel
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
- 1 large celeriac (or 2 small, about 2 pounds/908 grams total), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 medium purée potato (about 9 ounces/260 grams), such as Yukon Gold, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 6 cups homemade chicken stock, plus more as needed
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- Freshly ground white pepper
- 1 slice lard fumée or 2 thick strips smoked bacon (about 3 ounces/80 grams), cut into lardons (¼-inch pieces)
- 1 thick slice country-style bread, torn into roughly thumbnail-size breadcrumbs (about 1 ½ cups crumbs)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 12 mushrooms (about 8 ounces/225 grams), such as shiitake, oyster mushrooms or cremini, cleaned and sliced
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- Small bunch fresh parsley leaves
Preparation
In a medium saucepan or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and the olive oil over medium heat. Once the butter is bubbling, add the leek, celery and bay leaf and sauté until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Season with fleur de sel. (It’s important to season in stages as the soup comes together and builds in flavor.) Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute, stirring to make sure it doesn’t burn. Add the celeriac and potato and cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables begin to soften but don’t take on any color, about 3 minutes. Season with fleur de sel. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and let the soup simmer until the vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
Discard the bay leaf. Transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth, in batches if necessary. Pour into a medium saucepan. Add the heavy cream, stir to combine, and add more chicken stock, as desired, until the soup reaches a consistency you like. Season with fleur de sel and freshly ground white pepper. Keep warm.
Meanwhile, in a medium sauté pan, add a drizzle of olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the lardons and sauté until crisp and golden, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the lardons and set aside to cool slightly on a paper towel-lined plate, leaving as much fat in the pan as possible. Add the breadcrumbs to the pan, stir to coat them with the fat, season with salt and black pepper, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. (If the breadcrumbs seem to be sticking, add an extra drizzle of olive oil as you stir.) Transfer the breadcrumbs to a bowl and add the lardons. Chop about half of the parsley and mix it in with the breadcrumbs.
To the same pan, add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter. When the butter has melted and begins to foam, stir in the mushrooms and thyme, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until golden, about 5 to 7 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs.
Ladle the soup into warm soup bowls and garnish with mushrooms, breadcrumb mixture, and remaining parsley leaves. Finish each bowl with a drizzle of brown butter from the mushrooms. Serve immediately.
Cook’s Note: How to Wash Leeks
You can use the white and light green parts of a leek, but because dirt hides in the layers of the light green portion, they must be cleaned thoroughly. To clean, first cut off and discard the dark green tops. Halve each leek lengthwise, then cut them crosswise into ½-inch pieces. Rinse the leeks in a large bowl of cold water, swishing and separating the half moons to remove any grit. Using your hands, transfer the leeks to a colander to drain, leaving any grit in the bottom of the bowl, then use as directed.
Notes
Equipment
