pono

Rough proportions

Allium – lots could be used if you want deep caramelization, I used 4 shallots and 3 gloves of garlic Spices – thyme and bay leaf recommended, zatar worked pretty well 1 head celeriac, diced into centimeter cubes Other root or dense vegetable – I’m going to try cauliflower and turnip next time, I imagine rutabaga would be good. You are going to blend these so make sure you pick the potato carefully (to avoid gummy texture) Vegetable broth but gonna try mushroom or kombu next time White pepper – just for color, if you don’t care use what you like Salt to taste Cream – about a half cup of oat milk was used to about 4 cups of broth Olive oil or butter Herbs – parsley etc

Brown onions slowly; really deep carmalization would sweeten and deepen the flavor. If opting for this route, I would probably avoid using carrots or another sweet root (beet?). Add garlic and spices towards the end.

Add other veg, stock, bay leaves, bring to a simmer. Cover until very tender (15-30 minutes depending on dice size).

Blend to desired creaminess, if you can separate the solids from the liquid, you can add the solids, then as much liquid as you want for desired thickness. And then stir milk in (I had a fear that blending the cream could make it worse, but unsure if that’s actually true).

Taste for salt, serve with some more fat like butter or olive oil and herbs.

You are aiming for a hot, creamy, umami forward flavor. The use of multiple vegetables will deepen the flavor. This could be a great use for old roasted veg that you want to finish (and that would be faster to cook). I don’t like uniform texture soups that much so I threw in some cabbage cut into inch squares after blending and cooked that for a bit.

I served this with a soda bread, aged white cheddar and extra butter and honey on the side. We had a good sour beer, a deep malty one would probably be good with it too.

If trying for vegan, I would serve with cashews on top of the soup (this might require it being thicker, I can’t judge if they’d sit on top easily or not), the bread can be made vegan and served with a good olive oil and jam.