From a variety of sources on the Internet, we put together this simple soup last night from garden roots/tubers, and it was delicious! I understand this is a traditional French soup.
Take roughly equal amounts of the following:
Celeriac (Celery Root)
Jerusalem Artichoke
Potatoes
Peel the celery root, and optionally the others as well. We left the peels on, but the Jerusalem Artichoke skin was a little too tough so we removed it at the end.
Since these all have different cooking times, cook them in separate pots of boiling water until they are soft enough to mash (test with a fork). Add about 1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice to the cooking water of the Jerusalem Artichoke to prevent browning. Drain, reserving some of the potato water.
Mash the cooked roots together with a potato masher. It’s okay if it’s a little lumpy, but remove large pieces of tough skins that might remain. Add a little of the reserved potato water until it’s the consistency of thick soup.
Serve in bowls with a pat of butter on top. Add salt and pepper to taste. Yum!
I love recipes that use Jeruselum Artichoke as I have so many to use. Celeriac, JA and potato, sound good.
This sounds really nice, although I must admit that I have never tried Jerusalem Artichoke. In fact I am not even sure I can get it here.
Any idea if it roasts well? I think celeriac does, and certainly potatoes do, so I was wondering if all of them could be roasted together and blended into a soup.
Hi Erik,
I love roasted JA. I’m not sure they would be nice in soup afterwards, but it’s certainly worth a try.
There are two important things to remember about JA. The first is they brown quickly after being cut open, unless you put them in acidulated water. The other thing is they really must either be eaten raw or completely cooked. Half cooked JA are not nice. When roasting test with a fork, and they should be completely softened, all the way through.
If you are just roasting them to eat, rubbing the skins with a little olive oil first will help make them nice and crispy.
I haven’t had Jerusalem Artichoke for ages; next time we get a cold crisp sunday I might make this after I have walked the dog to warm me up. It sounds tastey and ideal.