{"id":1542,"date":"2007-01-09T04:08:00","date_gmt":"2007-01-09T04:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elitemporaryblog.wordpress.com\/2007\/01\/09\/a-bad-case"},"modified":"2015-09-24T03:53:57","modified_gmt":"2015-09-24T03:53:57","slug":"a-bad-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orangette.net\/2007\/01\/a-bad-case\/","title":{"rendered":"A bad case"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many people, the contents of my grocery basket could be kind of scary. The other day at the market, for instance, I felt as though I owed the cashier an apology when I sent a bulb of fennel, three celery roots, some kale, and a bag of endive down her conveyor belt. The poor lady hardly knew what to make of them. She sniffed a little, nudged them onto the scale, and looked at me pleadingly. It was a rough moment for both of us. I don\u2019t know. Sometimes I think I should start an orphanage for unloved vegetables. My fridge is already halfway there, and anyway, I seem to be destined for it. It just makes me so sad<\/span> to watch celery roots go spongy on the display shelf, and to see kale swept into the trash can. Heck, if Brandon hadn\u2019t come along to distract me, I probably would have become a happier version of Miss Hannigan<\/a>, an old spinster surrounded by orphan turnips and rutabagas, spending my days in the service of unwanted roots<\/span> and greens. They need<\/span> me. And I\u2019m happy to help \u2013 you know, minus the spinster part.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always been a sucker for the underdog. There were a lot of mean girls in my middle school, so I relate to anything scorned, gawky, or with bad skin<\/span>. Come winter, that includes a significant part of the produce section. If you\u2019ve been hanging around here for any length of time, you know well how I feel about Brussels<\/a> sprout<\/a>s<\/a>, say, and cabbage<\/a>, and cauli<\/a>flower<\/a> and fennel<\/a> \u2013 things funky or stinky or strong-tasting, things often disliked. I love <\/span>them. Give me your poor, your tired, your lumpy and ugly and stubborn! I will give them a home. (Even if it is<\/span> in my stomach, which is admittedly sort of dark and wet.) This week, I\u2019m hosting a few celery roots. First, I tucked them into a warm pot on the stove, then I gave them a ride in the blender, and now they\u2019re resting contentedly in the well of a soup spoon. They\u2019re getting lots of love around here.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Contrary to what its name might imply, celery root is not the root of common celery, but rather its cousin. Also called celeriac \u2013 a word that would make a great insult, I think \u2013 celery root suffers from what my mother might call \u201ca bad case of the uglies.\u201d It\u2019s dirty and gnarly and bumpy, with hairy little roots along its base. Picture<\/a> a turnip with a terrible skin disease, and you\u2019re pretty close. But underneath all that lies a lovely, lovely surprise \u2013 a flavor similar to celery, but a little milder, rounder, nutty. It\u2019s smooth and dense, a bit like a firm potato, and can be eaten both raw and cooked. The French grate it, toss it with a mayonnaise dressing, and call it c\u00e9leri r\u00e9moulade<\/span>. Lately, in my house, we\u2019ve been calling it soup.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve made this recipe twice in less than five days, and friends, I can tell you, it\u2019s a keeper<\/span>. Inspired by a recipe in the New York Times<\/span>, it\u2019s the perfect antidote to all those early-January afflictions \u2013 holiday excess, anemia of the wallet, buffet-table burn-out \u2013 and on a particularly sleepy Sunday at home, you could sip it from a mug like cocoa. It\u2019s silky, velveteen even<\/span>, and best of all, it\u2019s simple as can be: just aromatics, celery root, and broth, cooked and zizzed and finished with a bit of milk and a smidgen of olive oil. I\u2019ve been eating it for lunches at work, but it would make a fancy first course for dinner too, or even a full supper in itself, with a hunk of bread and a few slices of cheese. And as my friend Kate<\/a> so aptly pointed out, it\u2019s totally <\/span>today\u2019s \u201cit\u201d color \u2013 cream<\/a>-meets-flax<\/a>, if you will. For an ugly old thing, celery root cleans up awfully well. If you\u2019ve got any unloved specimens, please send them my way. Or, you know, see for yourself.<\/p>\n

Pur\u00e9e of Celery Root Soup<\/strong>
Inspired by The New York Times<\/em>, December 20, 2006<\/a><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let the tough looks of celery root fool you: it\u2019s actually quite easy to work with. First, choose a root that\u2019s roughly baseball-size and that feels firm and hard \u2013 never spongy \u2013 and heavy for its size. To prepare it, plunk it in the sink and attack it with your vegetable peeler. The smoother, non-rooty end is easy to peel with a few quick, decisive strokes, and then the root end can be trimmed with a sharp knife. You may lose more of the bulb than you might expect \u2013 these little buggers can be craggy, calling for some serious trimming. But once the celery root is ready, you\u2019re most of the way there. Before you begin, a few other notes:<\/p>\n

– This recipe makes a fairly small batch, so consider doubling it. You won\u2019t be sorry.<\/p>\n

– The first time I made this, I pur\u00e9ed it in a food processor, and it never really emulsified properly. I have since found that a blender works much, much better. The starchy quality of celery root seems to demand it. So if you\u2019ve got a blender, use it. [But not<\/em> an immersion blender \u2013 like the food processor, it\u2019s better saved for softer, more yielding things.]<\/p>\n

– Lastly, the delicate flavor of this soup begs for a clean, mild broth \u2013 and preferably one that\u2019s homemade. If you\u2019ve made some good chicken broth lately, by all means, use that. Or, if not, do as I did this past weekend and make a super-quick, super-easy vegetable version. It takes only an hour and change, and it requires almost no attention. Plus, its gentle onion and leek flavors are lovely in the soup.<\/p>\n

2 \u00bd Tbs olive oil, divided
1 small leek, white part only, coarsely chopped
\u00bd medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 lb. peeled, chopped celery root (from about 3 baseball-size bulbs)
3 cups mild chicken or vegetable broth, preferably homemade (see below)
\u00bd tsp salt, plus more to taste
4-5 Tbs skim milk
Chopped chervil, for serving (optional)<\/p>\n

In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm 2 Tbs olive oil. Add the leek, onion, celery, and garlic, and saut\u00e9 until softened but not browned, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the celery root, broth, and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover, and simmer until the celery root is very tender. It should break apart easily when poked with a fork; on my stove, this takes about 35-45 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat.<\/p>\n

Using a blender and working in small batches \u2013 when working with hot liquids, never fill the blender more than 1\/3 full<\/span>! – pur\u00e9e the soup until very smooth. Add the remaining \u00bd Tbs oil and the milk, and stir to incorporate. Taste, and adjust seasoning as necessary. Reheat gently until just steaming.<\/p>\n

Yield: 4 dainty servings<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Basic Vegetable Broth<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 \u00bd Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely sliced
1 small leek, white part only, coarsely sliced
\u00bd stalk celery, coarsely sliced
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely sliced
1 large clove garlic, peeled and smashed
8 cups cold water
1 Turkish bay leaf<\/p>\n

In a large saucepan, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, leek, celery, carrot, and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the water and bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the vegetables are very soft, about 1 hour. Strain the broth through a sieve into a clean bowl or heatproof container, pressing down on the vegetables to extract all their juices. Let cool, uncovered. Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to a week, or freeze for longer keeping.<\/p>\n

Yield: About 6 cups, give or take a little<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many people, the contents of my grocery basket could be kind of scary. The other day at the market, for instance, I felt as though I owed the cashier an apology when I sent a bulb of fennel, three celery roots, some kale, and a bag of endive down her conveyor belt. The poor lady hardly knew what to make of them. She sniffed a little, nudged them onto the scale, and looked at me pleadingly. It was a rough moment for both of us. I don\u2019t know. Sometimes I think I should start an orphanage for unloved vegetables. My fridge is already halfway there, and anyway, I seem to be destined for it. It just makes me so…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA bad case | Orangette<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2007\/01\/a-bad-case\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A bad case | Orangette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For many people, the contents of my grocery basket could be kind of scary. The other day at the market, for instance, I felt as though I owed the cashier an apology when I sent a bulb of fennel, three celery roots, some kale, and a bag of endive down her conveyor belt. The poor lady hardly knew what to make of them. She sniffed a little, nudged them onto the scale, and looked at me pleadingly. It was a rough moment for both of us. I don\u2019t know. Sometimes I think I should start an orphanage for unloved vegetables. My fridge is already halfway there, and anyway, I seem to be destined for it. 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