I bookend this Super Bowl week with another recipe from The Wimpy Vegetarian. If you recall, The Wimpy Vegetarian was my assigned blog for Monday’s Secret Recipe Club post. I promised that I’d be sharing one of her soups during the Soup-er bowl and here it is!

Never having cooked with celery root before I was intrigued by her Celery Root Bisque. Stuart always wants to buy the bizarre ingredients in the produce section so I decided to go for it! (The celery root can be found in the produce section near the ginger root. And the rutabaga – which might be the next strange ingredient used in my kitchen.)

Cutting the celery root was a test for my new knives. For Christmas Stuart got me a set of chef-worthy knives. These knives make cutting onions quick, slicing lemons smooth, and potatoes easy. I was able to “peel” the skin off the celery root with ease and cube it up with minimal effort.

Okay, enough of the unpaid and un-asked-for sponsorship.

Back to the bisque.

I didn’t think there could possibly be a better soup than yesterday’s creamy tomato but there is! I enjoyed a cup of celery root bisque for lunch for an entire week.

This soup has that hearty, creamy texture you’d expect from a bisque and has the flavor of celery with a kick. There is definitely heat to this soup. If you want a milder soup remove the seeds from the serrano pepper, use only half the pepper, and/or omit the cayenne. However, it’s that zip from the serrano that has you going back for another bite.

This bisque is perfect for lunch or as a side dish. Susan served hers with lobster! Some homemade bread is a perfect accompaniment for dunking and toning down the spice.

Celery Root Bisque

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/2 russet potato, diced
• 1/2 shallot, diced
• up to 1 serrano pepper, diced (for milder soup remove seed)
• 1/4 C white wine (use 1/4 C stock if you want to omit the wine)
• 1 celery root, peeled and cubed
• 5 C vegetable stock
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground mustard
• 2/3 C heavy cream
• 1/3 C milk
• fresh parsley, for garnish

Steps:

1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt butter and olive oil. Saute the onion, potato, shallot, and serrano until tender.
2. Deglaze the pot with the white wine. Simmer until all the wine is absorbed.
3. Add the celery root, salt, cayenne, garlic powder, ground mustard, and stock. Bring soup to a simmer and cook 35-40 minutes, until celery root is fork tender.
4. Remove from heat and blend using an immersion blender. (If you don’t have an immersion blender carefully pour soup in small batches into a standard blender.)
5. Return to low heat. Add the cream and milk and warm soup through before serving.
6. Garnish with fresh parsley.

*This recipe is adapted from Susan at http://thewimpyvegetarian.com/2014/03/celery-root-bisque-with-lobster-sundaysupper-fat-sunday/*