As I mentioned in my last blog posting, for Christmas Eve, I typically prepare the “Coffee Rubbed Filet of Beef…” (recipe is in my December 22, 2010 post) and surround it with different components each year. This year, the starter for our meal was a “White Root Vegetable Soup with Thyme Butter”. The recipe for it appears after this post. It is rich, savory and delicious - with a flavor combination that is hard to put your finger on. It’s complex and buttery and utilizes some produce aisle finds that I mostly neglect in my kitchen the remainder of the year. It is also more delectable when prepared ahead and allowed to sit in the refrigerator. The flavors meld together so beautifully, and who doesn’t like something you can prepare ahead of time?
I have no idea why I don’t use root vegetables more often in my cooking. Maybe that will be my New Year’s resolution for 2011… “This year I promise to pluck more turnips, rutabagas, celeriac and parsnips from the vegetable aisle and find more amazingly delicious recipes to prepare from them.” After all, they’re cheap, easily available and really are versatile in the kitchen! This soup was initially prepared as part of our “French Foray” Dinner Club in January of 2008. It was paired in that meal as well with a beef tenderloin entrée. It’s another one of those that we picked out for Dinner Club, but is so memorable I’ve simply had to put it to use again and again!
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| "Little Potato Trees" ready for baking! Afterward, you 'decorate' with minced red bell pepper and parsley for lovely Christmas color! |
This time, I prepared the soup base of simple root vegetables, leeks and broth up through the point of pureeing. I refrigerated half of it for my Christmas Eve meal and when it was time, I simply finished the recipe by adding the whipping cream and seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. The other half of the soup base (minus the cream), I froze for a later use. It will keep for many months this way until I pull it out for another dinner party or just for my family.
Our Christmas Eve meal was, yet again, quietly elegant, delicious and fun for everyone! We drank a fantastic Chateauneuf-du-Pape with our meal and very much enjoyed our night. I hope you did the same for your holiday, whatever your holiday or celebration may have entailed this year. And, if you get an opportunity to try either the filet of beef recipe or the root vegetable soup for an upcoming holiday or other special meal, I hope you enjoy them as much as my family did! (New Year’s Eve is never a bad time to celebrate with some new savory delights, now is it?)
Yield: Makes 12 servings
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons minced fresh thyme
6 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only), sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
10 cups (or more) canned low-salt chicken broth
2 pounds celery root (celeriac), peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 pounds turnips, peeled, each cut into 8 wedges
1 pound parsnips, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup whipping cream
Preparation:
Mix 6 tablespoons butter and thyme in small bowl to blend well. Season thyme butter to taste with salt and pepper.
Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add leeks and garlic and sauté until leeks are tender but not brown, about 10 minutes. Add 10 cups broth, celery root, turnips, and parsnips; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 50 minutes. Cool slightly. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to pot. Stir in cream. Season with salt and pepper. (Thyme butter and soup can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap butter in plastic wrap. Cool soup slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Re-warm soup over medium heat, adding more broth, if desired, to thin.)
Ladle soup into 12 bowls. Top each with small piece of thyme butter; swirl into soup and serve.
