Celery Root and Chestnut Soup With Brussels Sprouts

By Tara Parker-Pope

Updated February 28, 2016

  • Michael Nagle for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
1 hour 10 minutes
Rating
4(59)
Comments
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This soup, which came to The Times from executive chef Michael Anthony of New York City’s Gramercy Tavern, has a white, soft and silky base, but each bite has a surprising new texture.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

FOR THE SOUP

  • 1 medium onion, diced small

  • 1 stalk celery, diced small

  • 1 medium leek, white and light green parts only, diced small

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 teaspoon olive oil, plus more for sweating the vegetables

  • 1 large bulb celery root, peeled and diced (about 2 ½ cups)

  • 4 cups milk

  • Salt

  • Pepper

  • Juice from 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons, or to taste)

FOR THE CHESTNUT PUREE

  • 5 shallots, sliced thin

  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed

  • 1 sprig thyme

  • 12 chestnuts, peeled and roughly chopped

  • ½ ounce Calvados

  • Salt

  • Pepper

  • 2 cups water

TO GARNISH THE SOUP (PER SERVING)

  • 1 tablespoon celery root, diced and blanched

  • 1 teaspoon carrots, diced and blanched

  • 3 turnip pieces, quartered and blanched (about three tablespoons)

  • 2 chestnuts, roasted

  • 2 brussels sprouts, diced or leaves, blanched

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

31 grams carbs; 12 milligrams cholesterol; 189 calories; 1 gram monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 5 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 757 milligrams sodium; 6 grams protein; 10 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Prepare the soup. Sweat the onions, celery, leeks and garlic in a small amount of olive oil until soft without browning, for about 5 minutes. Add celery root and sweat for 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

  2. Step 2

    Add milk and then add water to cover, and simmer for 45 to 50 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Puree the milk mixture in a blender with 1 teaspoon olive oil and lemon juice. Strain through a fine mesh strainer.

  4. Step 4

    Prepare the chestnut puree. Saute shallots, garlic, thyme and chestnuts over medium heat for 1 minute. Deglaze the pan by adding the Calvados. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add water and simmer until tender. Puree the mixture in a blender, adding water to adjust consistency.

  5. Step 5

    To plate (per serving): Pour 5 ounces (⅝ cup) of celery root soup and ¼ cup of chestnut puree into each bowl. Garnish each bowl with diced celery root, carrots, turnips and roasted chestnuts.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
59 user ratings
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Comments

Maria

Makes an impressive, really delicious first course that's even prettier than the photo. Tossed the prepped garnishes together for quicker plating.

marge

I swapped milk for veggie stock to make it vegan. I also added two turnips chopped up in small cubes (added at the same time as celery root) to give the soup a bit more body, and extra lemon juice at the end to make it super bright. Fabulous recipe and easy to tweak. So delicious!

bg

Unique & delicious dish! I used the not vegetarian option of homemade poultry stock instead of milk, and the celery root made it quite lush & lovely. My chestnut puree was not as dark as in the photo, and after the first servings, we married it into the remaining soup for easy leftovers. Elegant use of root veggies left after the holidays :)

Susan

This is really delicious! My chestnuts were partly dried and both they and the celeriac soup took a lot longer to get done than the recipe suggests. But on a winter afternoon, it didn’t matter. Measurements for shallots and chestnuts might be helpful. I used 2 cups of chestnuts, one giant shallot. Simmered the soup with 2 cups of stock and added 2 cups of milk about 45 minutes in — because I didn’t want any sticking to the bottom of the pot. I used the stick blender for the soup and potato masher for the chestnuts. Topped with minced baby spinach.

David H

This was delicious ! I subbed chicken stock for some of the milk: perhaps 50:50?

Anna

Would a plant based milk work? If so, which one?

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