I love celeriac and should eat more of it. It’s perfect for soups – acts like a potato, but less starchy. It’s hard to describe the flavor – mild, kind of celery-ish, very delicate. Pairs well with other delicate flavors like fennel and leeks. I’ve made soups with it before, but this was a new recipe for me, from our old friend Deborah Madison, adapted from the Greens cookbook. It used a lot of our CSA ingredients, plus rosemary from the front yard.
Ingredients
- 1 cup green split peas
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tsp rosemary, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, sliced
- 1 large yellow onion, cut into 1/2 inch squares
- 3 inner stalks celery, cut into a small dice
- 1 celeriac, trimmed an duct into small cubes
- 1 t salt
- 1 T nutritional yeast (optional, but adds more nutrition and that “umami” flavor
- 1/2 c dry white wine
- 8 cups water or stock – I used 4 cups of each
- pepper
- 1 rosemary branch (about 3 inches long)
- 1 slice of baguette/ good bread per person (for crouton/ toast)
- Parmesan for garnish (optional)
Sort and wash the split peas. Soak them overnight, or, if you forget, don’t fret. Cover with boiling water and soak them for at least an hour.
Warm 3 T of the olive oil in a soup pot with bay leaves and rosemary and cook for about 3 minutes. add garlic and cook for 30 seconds (don’t let it brown). Add the veggies, salt and nutritional yeast and cook for 5 minutes. Pour in the wise and raise the heat to reduce. Add the drained peas with the water/ stock combo. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 90 minutes, until peas are soft.
Blend a few cups of the soup with an immersion blender, regular blender or food mill. Taste for salt and add some pepper.
To make the croutons – warm the remaining 5 T of oil in a small skillet with the sprig of rosemary. Toast the slices of bread in the oil until brown. You can make small croutons too, but it’s easier to make the big kind.
Garnish with the croutons & cheese. Yum!!!!