Celery Root Soup

“I simply love celery root, and what should they be serving but celery root!”

Can you name that movie?

If you guessed ‘Emma,’ you’re right!  Since seeing that movie some fifteen years ago, I’ve been curious about this root that Mr. Elton professed his love for.  However, it wasn’t until recently that I got up the courage to try.  I decided to go with a simple soup. 

 

The mysterious celery root
The mysterious celery root

One thing that I wanted to use in the soup was Chinese 5-spice powder, which is a blend of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, sichuan pepper, and fennel seeds. I know that may sound like a strange addition, but celery and fennel are in the same family after all. 

Now that I think about it, that really is a crazy choice for me.  I’m not the biggest fan of fennel. In fact, I can’t stand it.  What’s also crazy is that I like anise (another relative of the fennel family), but only in sweets such as pfeffernusse and black jellybeans.  Yet this recipe has fennel and anise, yet it’s not a dessert.  I also am not a big fan of celery.

I know, I’m a walking paradox, but stick with me here.  

Celery root is much more mild, and less fibrous (which is the primary reason why I’m not a celery lover) than the regular celery.  The 5-spices marry so well with the subtle celery flavor.

This recipe is simple, quick, and delicious.  Now with Mr. Elton, I too can say, “I simply love celery root”.  

Celery Root Soup
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
20 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
20 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 tablespoon olive oil
  2. 1 medium onion, diced
  3. 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  4. 1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
  5. 2 medium celery root (about 2 lbs total), peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
  6. 1-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  7. 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  8. 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
  9. 1 cup So Delicious coconut milk, unsweetened
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt, sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Add 5-Spice powder, chili powder and sauté for 1 minute. Add celery root, sauté for another minute.
  2. Add broth, and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer, and cook until celery root is tender, about 10 minutes. Puree soup in batches in a blender. Transfer back to pot and stir in coconut milk, salt, and pepper. Add more salt to taste (depends largely on how much salt is in the broth you use.)
One Fine Tomato http://onefinetomato.com/
Fast-and-Fresh-Dairy-Free-Time-Trials-Recipe-ContestThis soup is simple, and fast and can be done in less than 30 minutes. I decided to enter it in the So Delicious Fast and Fresh Dairy-Free Time Trials Contest in the 30-minute category.  What I like about this soup is that during the cooking time you don’t need to keep a watchful eye on it.   That way I can get side dishes and cleanup done while it’s cooking. 

 

Creamy Asian Coleslaw

Every dinner I try to have a big serving of greens.  That usually means a salad of romaine lettuce with my favorite vinaigrette.  And that gets old really fast.  

Something nice to do for a change of pace is a slaw.  When utilizing a bag of coleslaw mix, slaws can be whipped up as fast as a standard romaine salad.  

I didn’t want a mayonnaise laden salad though (vegan or otherwise).  I wanted one with lightness, and also creaminess.  That’s where this recipe comes in.  Yogurt gives the creaminess and lightness while the combination of the rice vinegar and honey give it a sweet n’ sour taste. 

Creamy Asian Slaw
Serves 6
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Prep Time
5 min
Prep Time
5 min
Ingredients
  1. 2/3 cup So Delicious cultured coconut milk (yogurt), plain
  2. 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  3. 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  4. 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
  5. 1/2 teaspoon sriracha (chili-garlic sauce)
  6. 3 tablespoons honey
  7. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  8. 1 16 oz bag coleslaw mix
  9. 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
  10. 3 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced
  11. 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, optional
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, whisk first 8 ingredients. Add coleslaw mix, cilantro, scallions, and sesame seeds. Toss to combine. I find that using my hand is the easiest way to get every piece of the slaw evenly covered with the dressing. Serve.
One Fine Tomato http://onefinetomato.com/
This recipe is so fast I decided to enter it in the So Delicious Fast and Fresh Dairy-Free Time Trials Contest in the 5-minute category.

Fast-and-Fresh-Dairy-Free-Time-Trials-Recipe-Contest

 

Cornmeal Pancakes, GF/EF/DF

When I first began cooking gluten-free, I was sorely disappointed with the pancake recipes out there.  Pancakes were always so nice for a quick dinner, but the gluten-free recipes I tried were either bland, gummy, or both.  The gumminess was the most disheartening; no matter how long I cooked them, it was as if they never cooked through.

That is where this recipe comes in.  Cornmeal pancakes, or Johnny cakes, offer a great alternative because of the smaller amount of flour.   The result: flavorful and gummi-less pancakes at last!  In fact, I would say these are downright fluffy.

Cornmeal Pancakes
Yields 24
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
5 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
5 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  2. 1-3/4 cup So Delicious Coconut Milk, unsweetened
  3. 1-1/4 cup cornmeal
  4. 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
  5. 6 tablespoons sorghum flour
  6. 5 tablespoons potato starch
  7. 1/8 teaspoon xanthum gum
  8. 2 tablespoons sugar
  9. 2 teaspoons baking powder
  10. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  11. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  12. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Place cooling rack on baking sheet and place in oven (to keep pancakes warm).
  2. Whisk coconut milk and lemon juice together. In a large microwave-safe bowl, mix 1-1/4 cup of the lemon juice/coconut mixture, cornmeal, and coconut oil. Cover and microwave for 90 seconds. Set aside for 5 minutes, keeping it covered. Get griddle preheating on medium-low heat.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together sorghum flour, potato starch, xanthum gum, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  4. Whisk remaining lemon juice/coconut mixture into cornmeal mixture. Mix in dry ingredients. Set aside for 3 minutes.
  5. Spray griddle with non-stick spray or lightly brush with oil. Place 1/4-cup amounts of batter on griddle. Cook for 1-2 minutes per side, until lightly golden brown.
  6. Serve. My favorite way is with strawberries and honey.
One Fine Tomato http://onefinetomato.com/
Microwaving the cornmeal softens the grains quite a bit.  Combining lemon juice with So Delicious Coconut milk provides the necessary acid to react with the baking soda to provide lift.

Fast-and-Fresh-Dairy-Free-Time-Trials-Recipe-Contest

This is a new favorite recipe for me because I have all of these ingredients on hand all the time.  It’s one that can be done quickly too.  So quickly that I am entering it in the So Delicious Fast and Fresh Dairy-Free Time Trials Contest in the 15-minute category.