Winter recipe : Celery root soup

We made this soup on our first San Francisco dinner, and it was a hit. You SHOULD try it at home.

This are not celery roots,
but they looked so pretty...

Ingredients:
Whole celery root

Olive oil
Whole bay leaf
Lemon
Freshly ground nutmeg
Whole peppercorns
Hot, filtered water (for thinning)
Salt to taste


1- Using a knife or vegetable peeler, remove all the brown skin from the celery root
2- Cut white celery root into pieces of the same size (for even cooking). Toss with olive oil and salt.
3- Place pieces of celery root in a flat baking dish, add a couple whole bay leaves, and a few whole peppercorns. Cover halfway with water.
4- Cover baking dish with foil, bake at 350-425o until fork-tender, about an hour, sometimes longer.
5- Remove bay leaves.
6- Purée cooked celery root on a blender, adding just enough hot water to blend smooth. When you have puréed all the celery root, thin with water to desired consistency (soup should be thick but not too thick).
7- Finish the soup with fresh lemon juice, a little grated nutmeg (you can grate the whole nutmeg on a fine grater) and salt to taste.
8- Garnish with carrots roasted in thyme and oil –or anything you like.