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11/27/2004 Archived Entry: "An Announcement & Celery Soup"

First an announcement, then the recipe.

The announcement: I am returning to radio on January 18, at 11 a.m. on WWRL, 1600 AM. Yes, it is only once a week (better than nothing). Yes, it is at 11 a.m. not noon (can’t do anything about that). It is what it is. And I expect to enjoy myself talking to you all again. The show is being sponsored by Invite Health, which you may remember better as Hickey Chemists, which manufactures and sells dietary supplements derived from natural sources (to oversimplify). I am really looking forward to this. Tune in. Don’t worry, I’ll remind you – probably more than once. Oh yes, I’ll be doing this program from my kitchen table, so if I have to get up and stir a pot, you’ll understand.

Now the recipe:

I created this as I cooked it on Thanksgiving Day. My goal was to reproduce the fabulous cream of celery soup (without cream) that I ate an elegant restaurant in Avellino – specifically the restaurant attached to the Feudi di San Gregorio winery, Marenná, in a tiny village called Sorbo Serpico. At Marenná, the soup was served with a sfogliatella filled not with sweetened ricotta and semolina, but with diced pork. I served the soup without garnish (a celery leaf would have been nice, but go try and find bunches of celery with their leaves still on), but with hot biscuits – Lundy’s biscuits from my new book, Arthur Schwartz’s New York City Food. The soup is refreshingly and delicately flavored with celery. I didn’t want to mask that subtle flavor with any cream, but you could add a little if you want it richer.

Cream of Celery Soup

Serves 10 to 12

4 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 whole bunch of celery, with leaves if possible
2 large celery knobs (also called celery root and celeriac)
1 medium potato, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
1 quart or slightly more light chicken broth (canned will do)
Salt and freshly ground white pepper

In a 5-quart pot, melt the butter and cook the onion over low heat for about 8 minutes, until well wilted.

Meanwhile, wash the celery, then cut it crosswise into 1-inch pieces (yes, the entire bunch of celery, leaves and all). Then trim the celery roots and cut them into 1 inch pieces. Then peel the potato and cut it into 1-inch pieces.

Put the celery, celery root, and potato in the pot with the onion. Toss well, cover, and let sweat over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Pour on the chicken broth. It should just cover the vegetables. Partly covered, simmer the vegetables for 20 minutes, until they are all very tender. Let cool slightly.

Puree the soup in three or four batches in a food processor until very smooth. Taste for salt and pepper and correct, if necessary, which it will be.

To serve, reheat the puree gently.

If desired, garnish with a dark celery leaf, or perhaps a small sprig of dill.