Creamy Celeriac Soup

I was recently able to visit my friends who run Six River Farm in Maine, where spring is just beginning and a few roadside banks of melting snow remained. Though they are able to sell produce year round, the selection is more limited than their summer and fall abundance as the outdoor growing season is just getting started. However, I was able to bring home greens including spring mix, spinach, cabbage and kale and root vegetables including carrots, potatoes and one of my favorites, celeriac. I have featured celeriac before, purée with carrots and I continue to cook with this often-overlooked root vegetable. Roasting the celeriac for the soup creates a rich and well-balanced flavor, allowing few ingredients to be used for a simple creamy soup, especially delicious with an arugula and orange or beet and goat cheese salad.

For a vegan alternative, olive oil and water may be used in place of butter and cream.

2 medium celeriac roots, peeled and roughly chopped into 2" pieces

1 yellow onion, roughly chopped

2 tbsp butter

2 c water

¼ c cream

salt and pepper

olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle the celeriac with enough olive oil to coat, toss and spread on a roasting sheet. Place the celeriac in the oven and roast until tender, 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Once the celeriac is golden brown and tender, remove from the oven and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Continue sautéing, adding the roasted celeriac and water, cover the soup and simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes. Remove the soup from heat and cool slightly before blending.

3. Place the soup in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add cream and continue blending, adding small amounts of water as desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm or room temperature.

Serves 3-4

Vegetarian Borscht

Beets were initially domesticated along the Mediterranean for their edible leaves and later for their sweet colorful roots. Though borscht may be served hot or cold, spelled any number of ways and made with a great variety of ingredients, the essential ingredient of borscht is beet. Borscht originated in Eastern Europe, likely in the Ukraine where the greatest number of variations on the soup are found and was predominately a peasant dish as beets were inexpensive. Eastern European and Middle Eastern immigrants introduced borscht into American cuisine and it continues to be a commonly served soup. Borscht is delicious served with a leek galette and arugula salad.

4 medium beets

2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

2 stalks celery, trimmed and roughly chopped

1 medium onion, trimmed and roughly chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled

1 sprig rosemary

1 sprig parsley

1 sprig oregano

3 tbsp butter

3-4 c water

salt and pepper

sour cream

parsley

1. In a large pot and steamer basket, steam beets until tender, 30-45 minutes. Peel beets while still warm and roughly chop. Set beets aside.

2. Meanwhile, in a large heavy bottomed pot, heat butter over medium low heat. Add onion, garlic, celery, carrot and herbs. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, 15-20 minutes.

3. Once vegetables are tender, add steamed beets and 3 c water. Return to a simmer, remove from heat and cool slightly. Using a blender, food processor or immersion blender, purée ingredients until smooth, adding additional water as desired.

4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add sour cream and fresh parsley as desired. Serve borscht warm, room temperature or chilled.

Serves 3-4

Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a Spanish tomato based raw vegetable soup eaten during the warm part of the year and typically served room temperature or chilled. Originating in Andalusia, Spain, gazpacho is likely based on a Muslim or Roman peasant soup consisting of bread, garlic, olive oil and water, to which the Spanish later incorporated vegetables from the new world including tomatoes and peppers. Gazpacho is eaten throughout Spain, Portugal, and Central American, yet the soup itself varies a great deal depending upon both ingredients used and the texture and consistency created. Gazpacho is delicious with leek galette and white wine sangria.

Most any lighter bread will work.

4 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 c stale bread, roughly chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped

1 medium red or orange bell pepper, trimmed and roughly chopped

1 tbsp fresh parsley

1 tbsp fresh basil

1 clove garlic, peeled

1 small yellow or red onion, trimmed and roughly chopped

salt and pepper

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

1. Thoroughly combine bread and olive oil in a small mixing bowl. Set aside for 2 hours.

2. Place onion, cucumber, bell pepper, garlic and herbs into a food processor and pulse or lightly blend until finely chopped. Add tomato and continue to process until everything is finely chopped.

3. Add bread and process until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Serve gazpacho room temperature or chilled, topped with balsamic vinegar and olive oil to taste.

Serves 3-4

Pea Soup with Mint

Vegetable purées make a perfect summer soup as they can easily be served at any temperature, as a meal on their own or in addition to other dishes or courses. When making puréed soups it is important to not overcook the ingredients to maintain their color, flavor and overall integrity. Peas have been cultivated by humans for thousands of years and continue to be a widely consumed vegetable. Puréed peas turn into a rich and creamy vibrant green base for a fresh and simple summer soup. Minted pea soup requires little preparation, holds up well in the fridge for a few days and can be served warm, room temperature or chilled. Pea soup is delicious with leek galette or brown rice fritters.

To make the soup vegan, simply omit the butter. Frozen peas work just as well as fresh.

For Nicholas, who requested a pea soup recipe.

4 c peas, fresh or frozen

1 large white onion, trimmed and diced

4 tbsp butter

2 tbsp fresh mint

water

salt and pepper

1. Melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. Next, place peas in pot and stir to combine with onions. Add water until peas are covered and bring to a simmer. If using frozen peas, turn heat off after water reaches a simmer. If using fresh peas, simmer peas until they are just cooked, 3-5 minutes, and remove from heat.

3. Place cooked ingredients and liquid in a food processor and thoroughly combine. Add mint and additional water as desired, thoroughly process into a smooth purée. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Serve fresh pea soup warm, room temperature or chilled.

Makes about 4 cups

Southwestern Stewed Pork and Beans

I first came across Christmas lima beans while shopping at a farmer's market in Tucson, Arizona. The Native Seeds Search was selling them along with many other beans and grains. I was drawn to their red and white color immediately and decided to bring them home to New York to cook with them. Christmas lima beans were popular in the South during the mid-19th century and have only recently resurfaced with the help of heirloom bean growers around the country. They have subsequently become one of my favorite beans. Though they can be difficult to find, I have been able to order them online and find them at specialty markets. Beet salad or marinated brassicas or beets and tangerines would make a nice starter or side to this stew.

Any variety of bean will work for this stew, such as a kidney, pinto or other lima bean.

½ lb pork shoulder, cut into 1 inch cubes

2 c Christmas lima beans, cooked

1 medium yellow onion, trimmed and diced

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced

1 stalk celery, trimmed and diced

1 large red pepper, trimmed and diced

1 small waxy potato, peeled and diced

½ c corn, fresh or frozen

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1 tsp chili powder

½ tsp ground cumin

½ c beer

2 c stock

water

salt and pepper

1. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven, or similarly heavy pan, over medium heat. Add pork, brown each side, remove pork from pan and set aside.

2. Keeping pan over medium heat, add 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Add the potato and fry until golden brown. Next, add onion, carrot, pepper and celery, sautéing until translucent. Add cumin, chili and garlic and continue sautéing until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.

3. Add beer to the Dutch oven and bring to a simmer. Return the browned pork to the Dutch oven, add cooked beans and return ingredients to a simmer. Once simmering, add stock, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until pork is tender, about 20 minutes. Add additional water if necessary to maintain cooking liquid.

4. Once pork is tender, remove stew from heat, add corn and water if necessary. Cover and set for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Serve warm with sour cream and cilantro or toppings of choice.

Serves 3-4

Mustard Green Soup with Ginger and Bacon

Dark leafy greens seem very fitting for winter, particularly where little green is to be found outside. I appreciate greens for the colors and flavors they offer to dishes made with them. Mustard greens are an especially flavorful variety of leafy greens and so are able to be watered down into a soup while maintaining their taste. I likely was inspired by Asian cuisine with the combination of mustard greens, bacon and ginger. Roasted bell peppers and sesame rice are great entrées with mustard green soup.

Bacon provides the most flavor, though butter or olive oil may easily be used as a substitute. A blender may be used instead of a food processor.

1 bunch of mustard greens, chopped

1 yellow onion, trimmed and chopped

1 medium carrot, trimmed and chopped

1 stalk celery, trimmed and chopped

1 c chicken or vegetable stock

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

2 strips of bacon, thinly sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

water

salt and pepper

1. Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add bacon and brown. Once bacon has browned, add olive oil, onion, carrot and celery, sautéing vegetables until tender. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add garlic, ginger and mustard greens, continue simmering until greens are tender and brilliant green, 2-3 minutes. Remove the pot from heat.

2. Next, combine ingredients from pot into food processor. Blend ingredients until smooth.

3. Finally, return ingredients to pot and add water ½ c at a time until desired soup consistency has been attained. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Serve the soup room temperature or hot.

Serves 3-4

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Roasting is one of my favorite methods of preparation, especially when the weather is cooler as it both warms the house and smells deliciously of fall. I find roasting squash is an easy way to both prepare it, because little work is involved, and a good way to enhance the flavor of any given recipe, especially those that have few ingredients. I like to roast squash until it may easily be pierced with a knife, its skin separates from the flesh and its surface begins to caramelize. I like butternut squash soup with pasties or stuffed bell peppers.

Other squash varieties may be used instead of or in addition to butternut. Any fairly tart apple will work well. I topped my soup with sour cream, fried shallots and sautéed scallions.

1 1b butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded

2 tart apples, peeled, cored and roughly cut

1 medium yellow onion, trimmed and roughly cut

1 large carrot, peeled, trimmed and roughly cut

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil plus additional to rub squash

water

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425. Rub squash with some olive oil and place in oven face side up. Roast squash until tender and slightly browned, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once cooled, remove flesh from skin, place in mixing bowl and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add butter and olive oil, once melted add carrots, onions and apples. Stir occasionally, remove from heat when carrots are tender.

3. Purée squash with about ½ c water until smooth. Add squash to a large pot. Purée carrots, onions and apples with about ½ c water until smooth. Add to puréed squash.

4. Using a whisk, combine both purées and slowly add water until soup reaches desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm, plain or with desired toppings.

Serves 3-4