Celery Root Purée "Soup"

Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, I can finally catch up on the blog and post some old recipes. This celery root purée soup is comforting and provides a nice break from the typical cream of __ soups. The recipe from Epicurious is actually for a purée, but K added an extra cup of milk so that it'd be more like a soup. For those of you with little ones, you may want to stick to the original recipe and serve it as baby food. Find the recipe with K's modifications after the jump.

Celery Root Purée "Soup"

Yield: Makes 6 servings

  

3 4 cups whole milk

3 cups water

1 tablespoon salt

2 large celery roots (about 2 1/2 pounds total), peeled, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 medium russet potato (about 10 ounces), peeled, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 small onion, peeled, quartered

5 tablespoons butter, cut into 5 pieces

Ground white pepper

Chopped fresh chives

Sour cream

1) Bring milk, water, and salt just to boil in heavy large saucepan over high heat.

2) Add celery root cubes, potato cubes, and onion quarters; bring to boil.

3) Reduce heat to medium and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

4) Drain, discarding cooking liquid.

5) Combine vegetables and butter in processor and puree until smooth.

6) Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

7) Transfer celery root puree to bowl.

8) Add dollop of sour cream.

9) Sprinkle with chopped fresh chives and serve.

*Celery root puree can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Rewarm in microwave before serving.