Celery Soup

CELERY ROOT SOUP WITH SPICED MAPLE VINEGAR

Published: November 16, 2005 in The New York Times
(I hate celery but this is one of my favorite recipes ever! I only tried it because David loves celery, and love makes us do things we would never do otherwise….)

Adapted from Perry St., Jean-Georges Vongerichten's new restaurant in the West Village.

Time: 50 minutes

1 celery root, about 1_ pounds, peeled and cut in chunks
1 cup heavy cream
Salt
_ cup maple syrup
_ cup red wine vinegar
_ teaspoon ground allspice
_ teaspoon ground cloves
Freshly ground white pepper.

1. Place celery root in a saucepan with 3 2/3 cups water and the heavy cream. Add 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste, bring to a simmer and cook until celery root is very tender, about 35 minutes.

2. While celery root cooks, combine maple syrup, vinegar, allspice and cloves in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat.

3. When celery root is tender, purée contents of saucepan. Reheat and season to taste with salt and white pepper. Remove from heat and cover until ready to serve.

4. To serve, pour 1_ tablespoons of warm maple syrup mixture in each of 8 teacups. Reheat soup and ladle over syrup. Serve at once.

Yield: 8 small servings.