Celeriac, anyone?

 Good evening everyone, 

Today it's gloomy and there is a storm predicted in the Netherlands. Tonight, if you have trouble sleeping, there will be a storm on if you dare to lay in your bed. 

I feel relief there is a new president off the United States. It's much better for the world now they have a sane and suitable man for the job with a strong woman behind him. 

*

Today was Wednesday Soup at de Boed. It was a day for celeriac soup. Celeriacs are quite funny. 

This picture shows a fresh celeriac. It could be a nasty face if you take a better look. But that's not what this blog is going to be about. (Celeriac = Knolselderij in het Nederlands. Celeriac klinkt alleen cooler.) 

It's going to be about a receipe for celeriac soup. It's cheap, it's capable to be made to taste, and it's a perfect January soup. 

You need (For a pot suitable for a large group): 

- Sunseed oil (one to three tablespoons) 

- 150 grams off butter

- 3 celeriacs 

- 8 cloves off fresh garlic 

- 3 to 5 potatoes 

- Chicken broth from cubes (About 3 1/2 liters)

- Thyme (Two teaspoons)

- 2 bay leaves 

- Garlic powder (1 teaspoon, and yes it's nescessairy) 

- 5 onions 

- 2 liters off half fat milk 

- Peper and salt you're capable to grind 

- Crème fraiche (One package off about 200 to 250 milliliters) 

- One lemon 

- hand blender or a countertop blender 

- Garlic press 

1. Peel and clean all your veggies and dice them, put your oil and butter in a very large cooking pot and press all garlic in. Adjust pepper and salt, and all vegetables. Add crème fraiche during this step. Bring to simmer. Simmer well untill the butter is melted 

I have people who help me cleaning and cutting vegetables when I'm preparing Wednesday Soup each week. I suggest you to either take your time for this, or ask people to help you peel and cut. 

2. When all vegetables seem to have simmered, eyeball a bit how much broth you'll need and adjust in the cooking pot. Add and bring to warmth. Taste your broth. it's the beginning off all good soups. In my version off good Celeriac soup, this requires garlic powder, two bay leaves and quite a lot off thyme. add extra chicken broth cubes if it needs that during this step. Bring to a broil when you think it's to taste, and let brottle up to half an hour and then add in the milk. remove the bay leafs 

3. Puree everything alltogheter with the puree blender, blend untill smooth. Taste if it needs something else, add pepper and salt if necessairy, squeeze in the juice off a lemon and then add another salt and pepper. Lemons bring up the taste off these kind off soups. It's not necessairy to use a citrus press for this, as that would be too much lemon juice. Just squeeze in lemon juice from two lemon halfs with your hands. 

Optional: 

Toasted walnuts. Toast about 300 grams off shell less walnuts, and crumble them in your soup for an extra bite. 

It's even better the second day you serve it. 

I had my idea for Celeriac soup from a cookbook called the soup bible ('de Soepbijbel' - Heleen Timmermans) but I made it my own version simply by experimenting a bit with herbs and techniques for extra taste. And, sometimes I follow intuïtion and instinct and voices to make it even better, as it works. There's a mad woman in the kitchen on wednesday. But it works.