Celery root, leeks and almond cream soup

The weather has been playing tricks over the past two weeks.

Hot and sunny days unexpectedly broke the long siege of winter

and we experienced a glimpse of early summer.

We took off our coats, left our scarves and hats in wardrobe drawers and joyfully ran out of the house door to make the most of this exceptionally mild weather.

We knew it could not last long, though.

Temperatures dropped down again, and a greyish sky fell heavy on us.

I got a sneezing cold and reluctantly had to return to my winter clothes and routines, which include, of course, cooking comfort food - such as a cream soup - to warm myself up.

As I wrote in a previous post, soups are amongst my favourite dishes during this time of the year, and I always make some for dinner. The kind of soups my husband and I grew up eating (and probably rejecting as little kids): minestrone, pasta e fagioli (beans and pasta soup), pasta e ceci (pasta and chickpeas soup), passato di verdura (mashed/processed vegetables soup) tuscan ribollita and different kinds of vellutata (cream soup)

I like the term 'vellutata'. It comes from the italian word 'velluto' (in english, velvet). It perfectly conveys the idea of a smooth and soft texture.

A good vegetable broth and single – or double – cream are essential elements to get a perfect cream soup, as they provide this dish with that peculiar consistency that should be neither not too liquid, nor too thick.

I have always been intrigued by the idea of using vegetable milk instead of dairy cream in cooking this celery root and leeks vellutata. Browsing through different foodblogs and magazines I've found many excellent ideas, which include coconut milk amongst the ingredients, but we found it a little too sweet in flavour (beside the fact that my husband R. is a little bit conservative in his tastes), so this time I added a thick homemade almond milk to the soup, and enjoyed it pretty much.

We really loved this recipe, and I would appreciate to have a feedback from you; nonetheless feel free to experiment with other vegetable milk products (ever tried with oat milk cream??) or ingredients and let us know your preferences.

Ingredients for the soup (serves 3 to 4):

celery root: 260 gr / 9 oz – peeled and diced

leeks: 115 gr / 4 oz - sliced

onion: 85 gr / 3 oz - chopped

raw veg stock: 3 tsp

filtered warm water, or broth: 1000 ml / 4 cups

ginger powder: 1/2 tsp

nutmeg powder: 1/4 tsp
salt: to taste
extra virgin olive oil: 3 TBSP

Ingredients for the almond milk:

almond butter: 1 + 3/4 TBSP.

filtered water: 180 ml

for garnish:

flakes of roasted almonds: 1 TBSP

rosmary sprigs: 2

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.

Add three teaspoons of raw vegetable stock (if you are using it) and ginger powder and cook for a couple of minutes. 

Reduce heat to medium low then add onion, leeks and celery root and cook until softened for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning the ingredients.

 

Add warm water (if you are using raw veg stock) - or broth (if you are not using it at all) to cover the vegetables, bring liquid to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce heat again, cover the pot with a lid, and cook for 20/30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile make the almond milk: whisk almond butter with cold water in a medium size bowl until you get a smooth almond milk.

Reserve.

Puree the vegetable soup in a blender, add almond milk and stir well. Season with salt and spices (nutmeg and pepper I would suggest) to taste.

Serve in individual bowls, garnish with rosemary sprigs and almonds.

"Lightly, child, lightly. You've got to learn to do everything lightly. Think lightly, act lightly, feel lightly. Yes, feel lightly, even though you're feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them."

Aldous Huxley, "Island"

On our cupboard shelves

Dancing Angels Flowering Tea

As I was cleaning the kitchen a couple of days ago I started thinking about the kind of food I enjoy eating during this time of the year: soups and baked goods to warm up a cold day, pasta with seasonal vegetables + winter salads to please my taste buds and provide a quick and healthy meal, apple cakes and chocolate desserts to treat myself and my family on cloudy and rainy afternoons...

I also considered the ingredients I am naturally drawn to in order to boost my energy and brighten up any blue mood, the kind of comfort food we need to store on our cupboard shelves every now and then.

I obviously made a list of those ingredients, and here is what I came up with:

• red lentils
• homemade granola
• mixed roasted seeds
• green tea
• dark chocolate
• kamut flour
• cinnamon
• nuts
• coconut milk
• hazelnut butter

Some of these ingredients, such as hazelnut butter and coconut milk, have only recently made their way to our cupboard shelves,but I am nonetheless very happy to have introduced them in our daily diet.

Comfort food. Winter cravings.

What kind of goods have you stocked on your cupboard shelves?

I would love to hear from you.

Kamut and Seeds Bread with Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Spread

Hi and welcome back on the Wise Asparagus!

Almost two months have passed without a post and I really missed the opportunity to share something with you.

I've been experimenting with a few new recipes, though, and I would be more than happy to scribble them down here in the following weeks.

Let's start from the chocolate and hazelnut butter spread we are so fond of here at home. I can provide you many a reason for trying this version out: it is gluten and diary free and it is super easy to make too!

It will take you less than 15 minutes to get a rich chocolate flavoured paste that you will enjoy spreading on a whole grain bread of your choice and serve as a special treat for breakfast or for an afternoon tea.

As for the home made bread recipe, M. and I have spent many homely afternoons lately, kneading a dough or two. This winter indoor activity gave me the chance of playing with various ingredients and make different batters.

I have a special flair for kamut and seeds bread, though. Hope you like this loaf bread as much as we do!

~~~

Ingredients for the bread°:

kamut flour: 230 gr

strong flour: 230 gr

wholemeal flour: 40 gr

mixed seeds: 6 tablespoons

(a baker mix such as: linseeds sunflower, pumpkin, sesame seeds)

extra virgin olive oil: 3 + 2 tablespoons

water: 200 ml (warm) + 100 ml

fresh yeast: 25 gr

salt: 1 + ½ teaspoon

sugar: 1 teaspoon

°makes one loaf

°shelf life: 2/3 days

Ingredients for the chocolate hazelnut butter spread*:

dark chocolate: 100 gr

unsweetened hazelnut butter: 50 gr

unsweetened almond milk: 150 ml

blonde cane sugar: 40 gr

salt: 1 pinch (optional)

*yields 65 ml glass jar

*shelf life: 4-7 days

Pour 200 ml of warm water in a medium size bowl, add the sugar and stir well.

Dissolve the fresh yeast in it and let it melt completely, stirring with a spoon if necessary.

Sift the three flours in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and pour in olive oil, salt and yeast mixture. Mix all the ingredients until combined, then gradually add 100 ml of water (you'll probably need less than that), kneading 5 to 10 minutes until you get a smooth, soft and sticky batter.

If the dough is too wet add one or two spoonfuls of flour and knead again.

Cover the bowl with a dish towel, place in a warm place and let rise for approximately 2 hours, until the dough doubles its size.

Once the dough has doubled in size, add all the seeds and knead again.

Transfer the dough into a baking pan (see photo above), that you will have brushed with one tablespoon of oil beforehand or covered with oiled baking sheet. Again, cover with a piece of cloth and leave in a warm place for about 2 hours.

Brush the dough all over the top with olive oil, bake in a preheated oven on the medium high rack at 200°C. Remember to add a small bowl of water in the lowest rack of your oven.

Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes, or until the bread looks light brown and a toothpick inserted in its centre comes out clean.

Once the bread is ready, remove the loaf from the baking pan and let cool on a cold rack or wooden board for 10-20 minutes.

~~~

Melt the chocolate with the almond milk in a bain marie. Once the chocolate is perfectly melted add blonde sugar cane plus a pinch of salt (optional) and mix well. Add the hazelnut cream to the mixture and stir until all ingredients are perfectly combined.

You should get a smooth, creamy spread that you can store in a sterilized glass jar (4-7 days in the fridge, if it lasts that much!). Remember to serve and taste it at room temperature, though, otherwise the paste will be too firm and not easy to spread at all.

A personal note

This blog is entering a 'hiatus' for a couple of months.
I am taking some time off the blogsphere to take care of myself and my family.
Hope to find you all when I am back.


Thanks for all the kind support you've been giving me so far...

A presto,
Roberta