crema de apio y patata roja : cream of celery and red creamer potato : simple and bold!

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I’ve made  this cream of celery and potato and I quite liked it. And it was also very quick to make! This is an easy recipe and it is also a basic preparation for many other similar dishes. I had extra celery in the fridge, and it was begging me to make something with it. I don’t have the ingredients for a bloody mary which I desperately need… but I do have some wonderful potatoes, so this was a no brainer! Keep in mind, celery has a very bold and bight flavor that doesn’t get too tamed by blanching so use wisely. A red cream potato is a wonderful little creation that yields a very white and creamy base for this simple and quick yet delicious starter! 

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Ingredients (Serves 4):

8 red creamer potatoes peeled and cut in rounds

2-3 celery stalks with the leaves, coarsely diced

1 medium shallot, coarsely diced

1 garlic, crushed

150 ml cream

panko bread crumbs

kosher salt and black pepper to taste

a few drops of chili sauce

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The idea behind any creamy soup like this one is to create a starchy base using potatoes for example and flavor it with a vegetable of choice, cream can be added at the end of cooking for a smoother finish and better mouthfeel.  Start by boiling water in a sauce pan or pot. Get all your ingredients peeled and ready. Once the water is boiling, add the potatoes, celery, garlic and shallot to the pan. Make sure you only have enough water just to cover the ingredients. Why? because this water will be used in the final  soup and you don’t want to dilute the flavors in too much water and it has to be only enough water so that the amount of potatoes and the rest of the veggies is the right consistency after you blend it.

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Once the potatoes are fork tender, remove from the heat and bring out your immersion blender or use a regular blender. I rather use the immersion blender, less things to clean in the end, and a lot safer to use. A regular blender is fine, but remember to allow the veggies some time to cool down before adding them to the blender. Make sure you have a good clean kitchen towel, fold it once, put the lid on the blender (including that bit that covers the small opening on the lid)  Place the towel over the lid, and with your hand press down on the lid and blend, pulse a few times to get the blending started. The hot content in the blender will release a ton of vapor and that’s why you need to cover it tightly and protect yourself  from hot spatter. Then blend until creamy. Add the heavy cream and incorporate. Taste and adjust seasoning.

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To finish, brown some panko crumbs on a skillet, this will take about 4 minutes. Once they are nice and golden, remove skillet from the heat and get ready to garnish. Serve soup in medium size bowls and drizzle with some olive oil, sprinkle some crumbs, add a few drops of chili hot sauce and devour immediately. This soup will stay in the fridge for a few days, and frozen for months. I sometimes make a decent batch of it and store it in single serving plastic containers which I store in the freezer.

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Simple and delicious! Hope you enjoyed this one! Until the next post!

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10 comments

  1. That potato photo is so brilliant …. your eye for details are amazing … and I eat with my eyes. Not a big fan of celery – love celery jack … I have just start using panko bread crumbs, something we didn’t have in supermarkets last year – fantastic product. Would you serve this cold or warm ???? I did many years ago a chilled minted green pea soup with grilled king prawns, why haven’t I done that again???

    1. so glad you like this post! thank you! I would serve it cold on a hot hot summer day like today here hahah, i think I’m melting, LA can get hot. But when I made it I served it hot. That green pea soup has to be amazing. Now I want prawns too hahah… have you checked out katie’s blog? her week ingredient is green peas, I love her blog. http://katieatthekitchendoor.com

      1. Thanks for the link … yes, there was a lot of temptation with green peas. A fantastic blog …
        I will try to find .. my old pea soup .. recipe and do a post about it. *smile
        I can image that LA can be a melting pot in more than one way. *smile

  2. What a wonderful post, Paul! The recipe sounds delicious and your photos stunning. Like a previous commenter, that potato shot is striking. I must admit, when I saw “cilantro” in the recipe’s title, I was a bit leery for I’m not at all of fan of the spice cilantro. Seeing that you were referring to celery was a bit of a relief. 🙂

    1. crap! I just fixed it (I’m dyslexic… or whatever it is that makes you see 7 when you write 9… and it happens with words all the time) thanks for catching that John! no cilantro soup 🙂

  3. That does looks terrific! I’ve done a very similar soup, but with leeks (very classic) instead of celery, and no fun panko or chili oil drizzle. Since I love both toasted panko and chili oil, this version is a must! Thanks, Paul!

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