Double Celery Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a light soup, but it is also substantial enough to be filling. A bit of a contradiction I know, but it really is a perfect soup to fill stomachs while bridging the seasons. When it's too cold for gazpacho, but too warm for a heavy bean soup, you'll be glad to have this recipe in your rotation. I must admit this soup surprised. I made it only because a neighbor had left celeriac on our porch and I had to figure out a way to use it. I have a handful of food writers that I go to when I'm exposed to new ingredients. Patricia Wells is one of them, and, sure enough, she had just what I was looking for. You can have this soup on the table in a little over an hour. You'll be delighted with it's flavor and its texture and you'll be especially pleased by how quickly it comes together. Celeriac, or celery root, is not always available in my community, so I snatch it up when I can get my hands on it. The root doesn't freeze well, but the soup does, so I usually make a double batch to assure I have some on hand. While there are herbs that add to the length of the ingredient list, the soup is made with just four real ingredients. It has made it to my top ten (soup) list and that doesn't happen often. I hope you'll try it. I know it sounds bizzare, but it is really, really good. Here's the recipe.

Double Celery Soup...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Patricia Wells

Ingredients:
1 medium celery root (about 1 pound) peeled and diced
10 celery ribs, cubed
3 leeks (about 9 ounces) trimmed, well rinsed and cut into thin rounds
Bouquet garni: 1 large sprig of thyme, 3 bay leaves, several sprigs of parsley, tied with a string
2 quarts (2 liters) chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground pepper
A handful of chopped fresh herbs for garnish: including chervil, chives, flat-leaf parsley

Directions:
In a large saucepan, combine celery root, celery, leeks, and bouquet garni. Add stock, and season gently with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.Simmer until the vegetables are soft, about 25 minutes. Adjust the seasonings. Pour into warmed shallow bowls. Sprinkle with the chopped herbs and serve immediately. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque - Petit Foodie
Pumpkin, Barley and Sage Soup - Noble Pig
Roasted Pumpkin Soup - Gourmet Girl
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup - Louanne's Kitchen
Tomato Leek Soup - Living the Gourmet
Creamy Tuscan Bean Soup - Italian Food Forever

Wild Rice, Celery and Walnut Salad - Outdoor Wednesday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Last summer I had the opportunity to tour a local farm where wild rice is grown. While the Willamette Valley is beautiful, heavy clay soil restricts what can be grown here. Fortunately, the damp clay of the valley floor is perfect for growing grasses and wild rice is, as you know, a water-grass. Years ago a grain specialist at Oregon State University, tossed a handful of wild rice seeds into a pond behind his home to see if they would grow in this climate. A year later he had wild rice in his yard and published an article about it. As a result of the article, some far-thinking farmers planted a water-grass crop and the state's wild rice industry was born. At the moment our wild rice is still under water. In late April or early May, sprouts emerge from the water and rest on its surface. It looks a bit like seaweed at this point. Come June, the rice goes through a growth spurt and begins to stand erect. It will grow until it's about 6 feet tall and set flowers sometime in July. When the flowers set seed, the fields in which the rice grows are drained and the crop is mechanically harvested. Combined rice is allowed to ferment before it's de-hulled, dried, sorted and packaged for sale to locavores. Now the only problem is what to do with it. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of recipes for wild rice available to us. I found the recipe for this salad in the New York Times. I've modified it over and over again and have finally come up with something I really like. This recipe can also be used for brown rice, should you prefer it. The salad should be served at room temperature. Here's the recipe.

Wild Rice, Celery and Walnut Salad...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, inspired by Martha Rose Shulman and the New York Times

Ingredients:
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup wild rice, rinsed
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup broken and toasted walnut pieces or 1 cup candied walnuts
1-1/4 cups thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
Salad Dressing
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup walnut oil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons low-fat yogurt

Directions:
1) Bring chicken broth to a boil in a large saucepan. Add salt and wild rice. Simmer, covered, for 40 minutes, or until rice is tender and splayed. Drain. Toss with walnuts, celery and parsley.
2) To make salad dressing, place lemon juice, garlic,salt, pepper, sugar, walnut oil, olive oil and yogurt in a jar with a lid. Shake until combined. Pour over wild rice mixture and toss to mix. Adjust seasonings to taste. Yield: 6 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Bulgur Salad with Pomegranate Dressing
Warm Asian Rice Salad
Asian Bean Sprout Salad

This is being linked to:
Outdoor Wednesday - A Southern Daydreamer

Celery Soup - Foodie Friday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I began the effort to "green" my kitchen several years ago. One of the areas I knew needed to be addressed was the amount of waste I generated as I prepared and cooked our meals. I began with an honest evaluation of food that was purchased and never used, or food that went bad before it could be used. I also took a look at leftovers that spoiled before they made it back to our table. The first thing I addressed was "right sizing" the number and size of portions I prepared for our meals. Recipes were sized to feed two or create planned leftovers. The harder part was identifying the true waste lurking in the refrigerator. For whatever reason, my vegetable crispers always held some food that seemed destined for the garbage can. I was especially bad with things like green onions, peppers and celery. It took some doing, and a lot of planning, but I eventually got to the point where what was purchased was eaten. Celery was my biggest problem. I would use a stalk or two but had no plan to use what remained. At one time I had the same problem with carrots. I solved that by searching out recipes that would finish the bunch before week's end. While it was harder with celery, I used the same approach and eventually found ways to use it. This light and simple soup is one of the recipes I use to make sure that my celery doesn't go to waste. I like, whenever possible, to add chopped fresh fennel to the soup pot along with the celery. The flavors are compatible because they come from the same plant family. While it's listed as an optional ingredient, celery salt adds enormously to the flavor the soup. As you scan the ingredient list you'll see that this is a perfect vegan meal. The soup can be table ready in an hour. It is too light to serve as a dinner entree, but it's perfect for lunch or a first course and it's great for company. You'll find that the celery is too stringy for an immersion blender to do its job. It really is best to use a blender or food processor and then strain the puree through a fine mesh sieve. The flavor of the soup improves as it sits, so I try to make this a day before I plan to serve it. Here's the recipe.

Celery Soup...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of the Los Angeles Times

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter
1-1/2 cups diced onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 large baking potato, cut in 1/2-inch dice to yield 2 cups
10 stalks of celery, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch dice to yield 6 cups
1 small bulb fennel, trimmed, core and chopped (optional)
5 cups reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar vinegar
1 teaspoon celery salt (optional) or table salt to taste
1 large pinch pepper
2 tablespoons heavy cream (optional)
Celery leaves for garnish

Directions:
1) Place oil or butter in a soup pot. Add onion and cook over medium heat until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
2) Add potatoes, celery and fennel (if using). Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
3) Puree soup in batches using a blender or food processor. Pass puree through a strainer, pressing solids with the back of a spoon.
4) Return to a clean pot. Add pepper and celery or table salt. Stir in cream if using. Bring soup to a simmer and keep warm over low heat until ready to serve. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

This recipe is being linked to:
Designs By Gollum - Foodie Friday