Melba's Jammin' > wrote:
> (Victor Sack) wrote:
> >
> > They are still a part of "soup greens" here in Germany, though sometimes
> > they are replaced by celery roots.
>
> OK, Bubba dahling, 'splain me what parsley and celery roots look like.
Parsley roots look similar to parsnips, but shorther and with the thick
end even thicker. Celery roots look somewhat like knobbly, pimply
potatoes. Here are the pictures:
Parsley root
<http://www.pharmamed.ru/pictures/i_250_32.jpg>
Celery root (celeriac)
<http://www.melissas.com/images/products/227a.jpg>
> Why would someone want both parsley root and parsnip in soup - are they
> not the same taste?
Nope. I have tried to describe their taste upthread... look it up.
> I like celery tops in my soup; what's the celery
> root taste like? (Celery, I know.) :-P
Celery roots (celeriac) have a definite celery taste and also somewhat
lemony overtones. When used to make various non-soup meat dishes, there
is very little difference in the end result whether one uses celery
roots or stalks.
And here is what I posted a year or two ago...
Very often, celery roots are added to stocks, broths and soups as a
minor component. This is not such a hot idea, as far as I'm concerned,
because both their taste and aroma seem to largely disappear during the
cooking, not even imparting all that much to the dish, leaving only the
now mushy root to discard. It is much different with soups where they
are a major component, but even then I'd personally prefer to use the
leaf/stalk type of celery, unless perhaps it's a puréed soup where the
puréed texture of specifically celery root is important and where they
are not cooked, if at all, quite as long.
This is even more different with vegetable purées with celery root
dominating - they can be sublime. Below is an example (which, BTW, is a
low-calorie recipe, so feel free to substitute whole milk for the
skimmed milk powder and water if you want; also notice that the parsley
is the leaf variety) from Michel Guérard's _Cuisine Minceur_. One can
also mix the purée with mashed potatoes.
Otherwise, celery roots are best consumed raw, as, for example, in the
classic example of céleri remoulade. I once posted a recipe from
_Bistro Cooking_ by Patricia Wells.
Victor
Celeriac and Parsley Purée
Purée-mousse de céleri-rave au persil
For four people
_________________________________________________
Main 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) celeriac
ingredients 100 g (3 1/2 oz) parsley
1 litre (1 3/4 pints) water
100 g (3 1/2 oz) skimmed milk
salt, pepper
_________________________________________________
Equipment 1 heavy-based saucepan
1 wooden spoon or spatula
1 liquidiser
_________________________________________________
1. Peel the celeriac and cut into chunks. Blanch for two minutes in
boiling salted water to eliminate any bitterness and drain.
2. Stir the skimmed milk powder into the cold water in the heavy-based
pan. Season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil, add the celeriac
and simmer for thirty minutes. Stir from time to time with a wooden
spoon or spatula to prevent it from sticking.
3. Remove the stalks from the parsley. was and dry it, and ten minutes
before the end of the cooking time, add to the pan with the celeriac.
4. Strain off the liquid or lift out the parsley and celeriac with a
skimmer and blend them in a liquidiser, adding just enough of the
cooking liquid to give the purée a light mousse-like consistency. Taste
for seasoning. Either keep the purée hot in a bain-marie ready to
serve, or store it in the refrigerator until needed.