Celery Root Soup

I've had celery root soup a couple of times- at Levain and Piccolo, and was inspired to try to make some at home.  When it comes to cooking just to eat, I don't use recipes.  I may look at a few and use them as a framework, but I find cooking without to be more interesting.

Here's what I did:

Bought 2 celery roots, and peeled them- peeling is slightly more challenging, because they're so bumpy, but I used a veggie peeler.  I cut one into medium sized chunks and the other into matchsticks, and kept them separate. All 3 times I've had this soup, its been the root in two forms- pureed, and also small chunks/matchsticks.  So, I figured I'd may as well do it that way, too.

I did the basic steps for a pureed soup- sauteed some onion, garlic, and then pieces of celery root, added salt and pepper, until yielding and glistening in oil, but not browned at all.  I added some liquid- water seasoned with vegetable salt and a little dry white wine, covered and simmered until veggies were soft.  I pureed the mixture with an immersion blender, and added some heavy cream. Added a little nutmeg, salt and pepper, and warmed on the stove for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, I simmered the matchsticks in some water until they were tender, but not mushy.  I set them aside to cool in the water.

To serve, I used a scoop of matchsticks, and then poured some of the puree over.  (On the second meal of this, the puree seemed thick, so I used the water to thin it a bit). I drizzled it with southeast asian chile oil.