Silky Leek & Celery Root Soup

For the best flavor, make this soup a day in advance.Yields about 24 two-ounce portions.
ingredients
3 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 medium leeks (white and light green parts only), trimmed, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into thin half-moon slices, rinsed thoroughly, and drained
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp. kosher salt; more to taste
1-1/2 lb. celery root (about 1 large)
3/4 cup crème fraîche
1/4 cup heavy cream; more as needed
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh chives
how to make

In a 4-quart or larger heavy-based pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the leeks, onion, and a generous pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft and lightly golden but not brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to low if you see signs of browning.

Meanwhile, peel the celery root with a sharp knife (expect to slice quite a bit off the exterior as you trim). Halve the peeled celery root lengthwise and cut each half into 1-inch-thick wedges. Cut each wedge crosswise into 1/4-inch slices. You should have about 5 cups.

Add the celery root, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 cup water to the leeks. Cover and cook until the celery root is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. (Check occasionally; if all the water cooks off and the vegetables start to brown, add another 1/2 cup water.) Add 4-1/2 cups water, bring to a simmer, and continue to cook another 20 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Purée the soup (with a hand blender, or in small batches in a stand blender) to a very smooth, creamy consistency. Let cool completely and then store in the refrigerator at least overnight or for up to two days.

About an hour before serving, put the crème fraîche in a small bowl and stir in enough of the heavy cream so that the mixture reaches the consistency of yogurt. Leave the cream mixture at room temperature until you are ready to serve the soup. (If the cream is too cold, it will cool the soup.)

Reheat the soup. (If it’s too thick, gradually thin it with as much as 1 cup water.) Taste and add more salt as needed. Ladle the soup into small espresso cups or shot glasses. Top each portion with a small spoonful of crème fraîche (it should float on top of the soup). Finish each cup with a pinch of black pepper and a sprinkle of chives.

From Fine Cooking 75, pp. 53

A Soothing Soup, Ready in Minutes
by Joanne Smart

Whenever I feel a cold coming on, I turn to this satisfying soup. I figure that with its ample garlic, chicken broth, tomatoes, and spinach, plus its soothing heat, it must be doing something to make me feel better. But even when I’m not sick, I still enjoy this soup. Served with a crusty piece of bread, it makes a delicious lunch or dinner, and it’s incredibly easy to-make.

If you have some of your own stock handy, so much the better. But because you’re adding a lot of flavorful garlic, tomatoes, and fragrant basil to the soup, store-bought broth (preferably low-salt) works fine. I often use the broths packaged in resealable boxes, which taste fresher to me than canned broth. For this soup, boxed broth is especially handy because it comes in one-quart packages. For the canned tomatoes, I prefer organic brands, some of which offer the convenience of being already diced. Spinach can be time-consuming to prep, but once again you can turn to a convenience item—already washed baby spinach—without much of a loss of flavor (although you do pay a premium for it). Both fresh and frozen tortellini work in this soup, the former taking less time to cook.

Once you have your ingredients handy, it’s just a matter of throwing everything into the pot with a little time between additions. I like to sauté the garlic in the butter until it’s quite fragrant and just on the verge of turning golden brown. Next I pour in the broth and bring it to a boil. I start the tortellini in the broth and cook them until they’re a little more than halfway done before adding the tomatoes and turning the soup down to a simmer. Just when the pasta is done, I add handfuls of spinach and a few basil leaves and cook until these are just wilted, which takes only about a minute. Serve the soup hot with some grated Parmesan cheese. I guarantee you’ll feel better, even if you weren’t sick to start with.

From Fine Cooking 47, pp. 98

This soup we ate everywhere in the Yucatan, and it was often a little different but the basic flavors of intense chicken broth and lime were always present.

Philippe has tweaked a thai soup until it's really perfect. Give it a try.

dynamite! If there are two things in our crisper that are often looking sad liek they are about to go south, it's a fennel bulb and a bunch of carrots. never again!

I've been using tarragon quite a bit more lately. It makes a potato leek soup taste authentic, and adds depth to broccoli soup.

I quite like golden beets, they don't stain the fingers and everything else like their red cousins.

Costco sell huge bunches of asparagus, so that helps defray the cost of this soup...

Philippe has a mad passion for celery root, so I'm hopeful for this soup.

Turnips? Turnips. Turnips!

From the San Francisco Chronicle, soups...

Fast, easy and tastes right. You can't argue with that. Found on epicurious, again!

yum yum, with potato if not on south beach, without if you are being good... it's quite nice both ways.

An often made and extremely nice Cream of Spinach Soup. Not too rich and very delicious.

My friend Landy bought way too much food for my baby shower, and so didn't cook up all of it (bless his heart, the crazy man!). Facing a huge bunch of asparagus, I thought I'd try this soup. I used fresh savory from our garden. I was amazed at how creamy it was, despite no potatoes or cream added. I did use the blender rather than the food processor, and despite not straining it, found it not fibrous at all. Philippe thought it was a tad bitter, and did add cream. I thought it was lovely as is. Try it at home!

There is no pleasure on earth like the taste of childhood food, but only if it really does remind you of childhood and isn't the unpleasant jolt of your educated palette no longer loving the bland flavors it once did. Homemade macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches with slices of tomato made with chedder instead of american... I know the tricks from my home, but what about pauvre Philippe?

I got lucky last night, cooking from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I choose to make a spinach soup, and my husband was transported... it reminded him of his mother's sorrel soup, only less bitter, he said. He ate two bowls with gusto, and I felt I did good.

I needed to make a soup the other day (my husband was cold and getting ill), and did it entirely from my pantry. Trader Joe's ingrediants are getting so good, it's possible to make really nice bites with dried and canned ingrediants... something I never thought possible.

Late saturday morning, post slice of bread and jam I realized I would either have to shop or invent. Luckily I had quite a few items from Trader Joes set aside in fear just such a situation woudl rise. I made an amazing delicious boullabaise from-- gasp-- frozen fish.