Celeriac Soup With Fresh Green Peas, Shiitake And Chanterelle Mushrooms

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The farmers market is packed with late fall produce right now: Chard, cipollini onions, the sweetest carrots on earth, celeriac, a surprise showing of a delicious little-known Peruvian tuber called Yacón (which will be featured in another post), winter squash, exotic mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, leeks, Brussels sprouts, and the end of the late summer peppers, to name but a few. Speaking of mushrooms, just across the street from the market, two young men were selling huge chanterelle mushrooms that they'd hand gathered further north, for $8.00 per pound - 1/3 to 1/2 the price in local markets.

Needless to say, we came home with lots of vegetables and with 5 glorious days off from work, I am looking forward to cooking them all. First up, this easy and delicious soup that is packed with so many healthful foods you could drink it all winter and quite possibly avoid another cold or flu bug*.

Christine's Celeriac Soup with Fresh Green Peas, Shiitake and Chanterelle Mushrooms
Christine's original recipe
Ingredients:
1 heaping cup peeled and cubed celeriac, cut 1-inch dice
1 large cipollini onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 heaping teaspoon dried thyme
5 cups good chicken stock

10-12 medium to large shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps sliced
4 large chanterelles, cleaned, stems chopped, caps gently torn lengthwise
1 cup shelled fresh green peas
1/3 cup tawny port
1 tablespoon each olive oil and unsalted butter
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Warm the chicken stock in a large stock pot on the back of the stove.

In a large, heavy skillet, sauté the cipollini and celeriac in the butter and olive oil until both are tender and golden brown.

Crush the thyme and add it to the sauté, stirring to blend.

Scrape the vegetables from the skillet into the stock pot and heat to a simmer.

Remove the pot from the heat and puree the vegetables and stock with an immersion blender until smooth. Alternatively, let the stock cool for a few minutes then puree in batches in a food processor.

Return the pureed soup to the stock pot and bring to a simmer.

Taste and adjust for seasonings.

Add the mushrooms, peas and port to the soup and cook until they are tender but the peas are still bright green.

Remove the soup from the heat and season to taste with the kosher salt and black pepper.

Cook's Notes:
> For best presentation, serve immediately; the mushrooms can get a bit waterlogged and start sinking, as is evidenced in the top photo.Click here to see how to peel and chop the celeriac.
> To make this vegan, one could use water or vegetable stock and substitute Earth Balance for the butter.

* This is not a medical statement. Shiitake mushrooms are said to boost the immune system and especially ward off viruses.

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved