Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Easy Non-Dairy Scallop Celeriac Chowder

\


Recently, I became intrigued by celeriac, or celery root. Such an odd little veg that reminds me of a creepy little root baby like a mandrake from Harry Potter. I bought one at Whole Foods and took it home. After researching this ugly little feller I discovered that it is often treated like potato, think scallops and mashed, only it is lower in carbs than the potato (2g per oz for the celeriac compared with 6g per oz for potato). I figured that I would try using it in a chowder, as I on a whim, purchased frozen sustainably caught scallops and the light bulb went on. Did someone say CHOWDAH? So here she is, a simple and fairly quick chowder with celery root, celery, carrots, and scallops.

INGREDIENTS
1 celery root cubed
1 carrot chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
1 white onion chopped
1 bag of frozen scallops
White wine
bouillon
thyme
bay leaf
flour and "butter" for roux
and salt and peppa'
optional soy creamer


Unpeeled celery root with little celery growing from top

peeled, scrubbed, and ready to go.

Sliced up

Cubed and ready for the pot

Carrots for some color





So start with sauteing your onions in a little butter or oil. When the onions are translucent add 4Tb of Earthbound and 4Tb of flour. Mix together to create your roux, the paste that will thicken your soup. Then add 2 cups of white wine, 4 cups of water, bouillon and the chopped vegetables. Turn the heat up to high. Throw in some thyme, fresh or dried, the bay leaf and your scallops. Boil for a bit with the lid off. This will reduce the soup into a rich broth.


Here's where things get personal. And by personal I don't mean 'gloves off.' I keep checking the soup, tasting, salting and adding to it. So, add some pepper corns maybe, and a tsp of salt. If you think it needs more yummy wine flavor add another cup. At one point this weekend while making a batch I using Schlitz and Louisiana Hot Sauce to give it a southern flavor. The boys really loved that one. I've also added a swig of soy milk to make it creamy like clam chowder.

There you have it. Once the celery root is soft and tender the soup can be done.

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts with Thumbnails