Celery Root Soup with Blue Cheese

From: Cooking with Shelburne Farms: Food and Stories from Vermont

This lovely, simple soup lets the earthy flavor of celery root, also known as celeriac, shine right through. It is the creation of Aaron Josinsky, Ricks sous-chef at the Inn. At the Inn, they add a little butter when pureeing the soup and top each bowl with some roasted apples as well as a few more crumbles of blue cheese.

Prep Time

45 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Yield

4 Servings

Ingredients

1 pound celeriac
3 cups milk
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 cup stock, chicken
2 ounces cheese, blue
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

 

1.      In a medium saucepan, bring the celery root, milk, and salt just to a boil and then reduce heat to a steady simmer for about 30 minutes until a fork easily pierces a chunk of celery root.

2.      Carefully pour the celery root and milk into a blender and blend. (Tip: Use great care with the food processor or blender when blending hot liquids like soups. If you put the lid on tightly, steam can build up. Leave the center of the blender lid off or the feed tube of the food processor open, and cover the opening with a wadded kitchen towel. Start blending slowly and don’t overfill the machine; blend in batches if necessary.)

3.      Add chicken stock and blue cheese and blend until completely smooth.

4.      Return the soup to the saucepan and warm it gently over medium-low heat. When the soup is hot, take it off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve immediately sprinkled with additional blue cheese if desired.

Prepare Ahead Tip: The soup can be made ahead through step 3 and refrigerated for 2–3 days. Do not add the lemon juice before reheating because you risk curdling the soup.

Notes

Before You Start: Don’t be scared of celery root’s rather gnarly appearance; that’s part of its charm and nothing a sharp knife or good vegetable peeler can’t take care of. Blue cheese lovers may want to add a little more blue, but take care not to overpower the celery root.