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Celery is one of the most overlooked and undervalued vegetables. It plays a supporting role in mirepoix and the holy trinity – the vegetable bases that are essential to many Western European and Cajun dishes. It sometimes shows up on Fresh Vegetable Platters. Yet it is never really celebrated on its own and that’s a shame.
Celery is crisp and crunchy, sweet and yet, bitter and astringent at the same time. Its flavor is fresh. It stimulates and cleanses the palate. Most people use the thick stalks of celery and discard the rest to the compost bin. I’ve even seen Culinary School-trained chefs do this in my kitchen, to my dismay! The bright lime green leaves from the innermost heart of the celery head are the most flavorful part of the whole plant. And the thin yellow-white stalks at the very center are the sweetest and most-celery tasting part of all.
Celery root is creamy, sweet, and nutty. The celery flavor is soft but still prominent. Celery root (or celeriac) and the thick stalked celery are the results of two different selective breeding tracts originating from smallage, or wild celery.
This soup is a study in celery. The pureed soup is made from celery root and the fresh celery topping uses flavorful stalks and leaves from the center of the head, along with celery seed. You will never think of celery the same again.
I first experienced a similar soup at The Pearl Cafe in Missoula, MT. I developed this recipe from that experience and served this regularly while I was chef at The Farm Table.
The pureed soup is vegan and gluten-free. There is a tiny bit of creme fraiche in the topping, which could be omitted or substituted for a fully vegan/ dairy-free meal. Served with buttered bread or a side salad this makes a lovely light meal. Or serve it as an elegant appetizer.
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Celery Root Soup with Celery Remoulade
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 2 quarts 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
The soup uses celery in all its forms: celery root, celery stalks, celery leaves, and celery seed. It’s simple yet elegant. Perfect for a light meal or an appetizer.
Ingredients
Pureed Celery Root Soup
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
2 small-medium celery roots, peeled and diced
7 1/2 cups water
1 small russet potato, peeled and diced
1/4 cup white wine
1 heaping Tablespoon Salt
1/8 Tablespoon ground Pepper
A handful of chopped parsley leaves
Fresh Celery Topping
1 cup minced celery heart (tender small stalks and lime green leaves) *
2 Tablespoons minced shallot or onion
2 Tablespoons Seriously Whole Grain Mustard**
2 Tablespoons Creme Fraiche or sour cream
2 Tablespoons minced chives
1/4 teaspoon celery seeds
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the soup
In a large pot over medium heat, sweat the onions, parsnip, potato, celery, and celery root in a little oil until soft and tender. You are not trying to brown any of these vegetables.
Add the white wine and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the water, salt, and pepper and bring to simmer.*
Cook until all the vegetables are very tender.
Remove from the heat, add the parsley.
Transfer your soup to a blender in batches and puree or until very smooth. Or you can use your immersion blender to blend the soup directly in the pot.**
Make the Remoulade
While the soup cooks, mince the celery heart, leaves, chives, and shallot and combine in a small mixing bowl. Add all the other ingredients. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed and set aside.
To serve
Fill your bowls with the soup and place 1-2 Tablespoons of the remoulade on top. Enjoy!
Notes
*You could certainly substitute water for home-made chicken broth or vegetable broth, however for pureed vegetable soups that are highlighting a single vegetable, I find plain water is best.
** This is a whole seed mustard that is not spicy. There really isn’t a good store-bought substitution that I have found. I don’t recommend using dijon as it is just a very different flavor. The best substitute would be to boil some whole mustard seeds until tender or just omit this.
**A vitamix or other powerful stand mixer will get this really smooth and creamy. The immersion blender will be result in a more rustic soup with flecks of parsley in it.
Looooove celery! This sounds delicious. I plan to make this soon. I will use the parsnip but not the potato…. hopefully it will still have good “mouthfeel” even without the potato.
Hi Lorri,
If you love celery, you’re going to love this soup. If you omit the potatoes I would just cut back on the water (and salt) to start so it doesn’t end up too thin. You can always add more and season to taste. Let me know how it works out for you.
Cheers,
Kara
Saw this recipe this morning and had to try making it. Found all the ingredients at our local co-op and had some whole grain mustard on hand. The soup and remoulade turned out absolutley delicious and the presentation was so delicate and beautiful! The texture and crunch from the remoulade was a hit with our daughter too. We ate the soup with some bread as our dinner and we were all very satisfied. Perfect healthful and easy weekday meal. Thank you!
That’s wonderful to hear. So glad you enjoyed it.