Celery Root Soup with Granny Smith Apples and Chive Oil

By CorbettCook

330 calories
4 g protein
20 g fat (3 g. saturated)
33 g carbs
950 mg sodium
7g fiber

This showed up in a magazine as one of Oprah's favorite soups Throwing in some diced apple at the end adds a surprise tartness, and dots of chive oil give it a sleek, dramatic finish.
Cashew cream is a vegan-chef staple that stands in for dairy in a variety of ways.

In the raw-food world, where it originated, it's used in lots of desserts. When you cook with it, though, it can be so much more—from cheese filling in ravioli to heavy cream in soups. It can be stored 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator and can be frozen for up to 6 months (although after it's defrosted it can be a bit lumpy, so it's good to give it a spin in the blender to smooth it out before using it).

The trick when making cashew cream is to use raw cashews. They have no flavor of their own; they're just a vessel for fat and creaminess. (It's the roasting that brings out the familiar sweetness in cashews.) Because it has a nice fat content, cashew cream reduces in a pan even faster than heavy cream. (Soy milk, which some people use in vegan cooking, has no fat, so it doesn't reduce into a thick sauce—it's really not an alternative.)

Ingredients

• Sea salt
• 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium celery roots , peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 stalks celery , chopped
• 1 large onion , chopped
• 2 quarts faux chicken or vegetable broth (try Better than Bouillon brand)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup thick Cashew Cream
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 unpeeled Granny Smith apple , very finely diced
• 2 TBS. Chive oil
• Chive Oil
• 1 small bunch chives
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• Pinch sea salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

Place a large stockpot over medium heat. Sprinkle the bottom with a pinch of salt and heat for 1 minute. Add the oil and heat for 30 seconds, being careful not to let it smoke. This will create a nonstick effect.

Add the celery root, celery, and onion and sauté for 6 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until soft but not brown. Add the stock and bay leaf, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the Cashew Cream and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

Working in batches, pour the soup into a blender, cover the lid with a towel (the hot liquid tends to erupt), and blend on high. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls. Place a spoonful of the diced apple in the center of each serving, drizzle the Chive Oil around the apple, and serve.


Chive Oil:

Blanch the chives for 30 seconds in boiling water, then drain and chill in an ice bath. Drain, wrap the chives in a towel, and squeeze the moisture out. Place in a blender with the remaining ingredients and blend for 2 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Put the chive oil in a plastic squeeze bottle with a small opening or use a spoon for drizzling it on the soup.

Cashew Cream:
Put the cashews in a bowl and add cold water to cover them. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

Drain the cashews and rinse under cold water. Place in a blender with enough fresh cold water to cover them by 1 inch. Blend on high for several minutes until very smooth. (If you're not using a professional high-speed blender such as a Vita-Mix, which creates an ultra-smooth cream, strain the cashew cream through a fine-mesh sieve.)

To make thick cashew cream, which some of the recipes in this book call for, simply reduce the amount of water in the blender, so that the water just covers the cashews.