Creamy Celeriac Bacon & Leek Chowder
Have you ever wandered around the produce section of the grocery store, seen some strange, often ugly looking items and wondered "what the heck is that?"? Celeriac often one of these items that people notice, and immediately skip over because of its brown, bulbous, awkward appearance.Celeriac, AKA Celery Root, is like the cousin of celery. It's not an actual root, but rather a tuber (a thick, underground stem, like potatoes), and tastes like a super pumped up version of celery with a teensy hint of fennel.
Celeriac boasts some great health benefits as it's loaded with Vitamin K and phosphorous which helps with cardiovascular health and bone strength. So, we've established that Celeriac sounds interesting and has delicious potential, but what do we do with it? First off, peel the celeriac by trimming off the top and bottom to create stabilizing flat sides. Then, remove the peel by shaving down and around the bulb with a knife (like peeling a pineapple!). If you have a super sharp heavy duty veggie peeler, that will work as well. Now that the celery root is peeled, you can continue to prep it any way you choose.
It can be used almost any way you'd prepare a potato- roasted with herbs, baked scalloped with cheese, fried into chips, but today I've created a creamy chowder recipe that utilizes Celeriac 2 ways. Since the bulb itself is usually pretty large, celery root produces a large yield making it perfect in this soup as part pureed thickener, and part diced chowder chunks.
Chef's note: You will need a blender or immersion stick blender for this recipe.
Creamy Celery Root, Leek & Bacon Chowder
Ingredients:
4 oz. smoked bacon, sliced into 1/4 inch strips
3 oz. brown mushrooms, cleaned & diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1, 1 lb. bulb celery root, peeled & diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1, 1/2 lb. leek, cleaned & thinly sliced - reserve 1/4 c. bright green sliced tops, for garnish
2 yellow potatoes, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 tsp. smoked paprika, more as needed for garnish
4 c. chicken or vegetable stock
1 c. heavy cream
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, as needed
olive oil, as needed
Place a soup pot over medium-high heat. When the pot is warm, add the bacon and cook about 5-7 minutes until the fat is rendered (melted), and edges are browned. Remove the bacon pieces from the pan, leaving the bacon fat to use as cooking oil.
Add the mushrooms to the hot bacon fat, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned - about 8-10 minutes. Season with a pinch of kosher salt and black pepper. Remove the mushrooms from the pot and set aside with the cooked bacon pieces.
If the pot is dry, add 1-2 Tbs. olive oil just to coat the bottom. Add the diced celeriac, sliced leeks, smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp. kosher salt and pinch of ground black pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until celeriac and leeks are lightly browned and fragrant- about 5-7 minutes. Remove half of the cooked celeriac and leeks from the pot, and set aside with the cooked bacon and mushrooms.
Pour 4 cups chick stock into the pot with the remaining half of the cooked celeriac and leeks, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes until celeriac is fork tender. Puree with an immersion blender right in the pot, or transfer to a blender, and blend until smooth. If using a blender, pour the pureed soup back into the cooking pot.
Stir in 1 cup heavy cream, and season to taste with kosher salt and black pepper. Add the cooked bacon, mushrooms, celeriac & leeks, and the diced potatoes into the pot, and bring the soup to a simmer over medium-low heat. Allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through and fork tender.
Serve chowder topped with the reserved bright green fresh sliced leek tops, and a light pinch of smoked paprika.
Optional: Sautee the reserved 1/4 c. sliced leek tops in 1 Tbs. olive oil until tender and lightly browned. Serve as garnish on top of chowder.
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