Yosemite Celariac Soup

Total Time: 1 hr 35 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Ingredients

• 2 heads roasted garlic
• olive oil, as needed
• 5 ounces yellow onions, diced (a little over 1/2 cup)
• 2 ounces butter, unsalted, diced
• 2 ounces parsnips, peeled & diced (1/8 cup)
• 1 lb celery root, peeled & diced (about 2 cups)
• 5 ounces russet potatoes, peeled & diced (a little over 1/2 cup)
• 3 ounces marsala wine (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 bay leaf, dry
• 1 teaspoon thyme, fresh, chopped
• 1 star star anise, whole
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper, to taste
• 1/3-1/2 tablespoon salt (or more to taste)

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 400 degrees f.
• 2 roast garlic by slicing off the top of the whole head. place in the center of a 8â€?x12â€? piece of aluminum foil. drizzle a teaspoon or so of olive oil over the sliced area. bring the corners of the foil up together and gather them up into a cone. place in oven for 30 minutes. remove and let cool. simply squeeze the roasted garlic cloves or pulp out of the garlic head and reserve for remainder of the recipe.
• 3 preheat a 4 qt sauce pan over medium heat. saute diced onions in whole butter until the onions turn translucent, but not brown. add marsala and cook for 3 minutes. add remaining ingredients except heavy cream. bring to simmer and cook for 30 minutes or until vegetables are very soft.
• 4 remove from heat. remove star anise and bay leaf and blend with a hand blender until smooth. strain through a fine meshed strainer. season with salt and pepper to desired taste. place back into sauce pot and keep warm.
• 5 just before serving, add heavy cream and stir until incorporated. adjust seasoning if necessary.
• 6 serve garnished with a nice extra virgin olive oil, sliced truffles, sliced chives, sourdough croutons or crostini, a dollup of crème fraiche or a drizzle of truffle oil.
• 7 enjoy!