Soup's On - Alpine Root Vegetable Soup (with Bacon!)
By Anthony Todd in Food on Feb 18, 2009 4:40PM
This winter, we’ve been on a real root vegetable kick. We’ve re-discovered beets, come to love turnips and remembered that we don’t really like parsnips as much as we think we should. In our kitchen, root veggies have been steamed, roasted, pickled and turned into pasta. But, aside from last week’s Onion Soup, they haven’t really been turned into soup.
This recipe gave us a chance to try a new root veggie - Celery Root. Celery Root is a very scary looking plant, and if you’ve seen it at the grocery store and shied away, we can’t exactly blame you. It is somewhat difficult to cut and peel, but once you’ve been through the effort you’ll find that it was worth it.
We were worried about this soup not having enough flavor - after all, it has no spices and hardly any stock. Our worries were assuaged when the excellent smell started to fill our kitchen. Between the onions and the turnips (which add a great flavor to broth), your guests will have no idea that you left your spice cabinet closed.
Alpine Root Vegetable Soup
Adapted from a recipe by Lois Anne Rothert
1 small celery root, peeled
2 turnips, peeled
2 medium potatoes, peeled
1 small parsnip
2 carrots
1 large onion, chopped
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 cup chicken stock
1 ½ quarts water
Salt
Pepper
French Bread, sliced
Gruyere Cheese, grated
Cut the first 5 ingredients into small sticks and set aside. Fry the chopped bacon in a large, deep soup pot until crispy. Take the bacon out and drain on a paper towel. Add the onion and sauté in the bacon fat, over medium heat, for about 8 minutes (or until soft). Add the sliced up veggies, a generous pinch of salt, the water and the broth. Bring to a boil. Once the soup boils, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
While the soup boils, cut the French bread into thick slices. Top with the grated cheese and broil until brown and melted. Once the soup is done, add salt to taste. Ladle the soup into bowls, float the cheese toasts on top and sprinkle generously with the reserved bacon bits.