Top Chef Stephanie Izard: Apple-celery Root Soup with Tarragon Vinaigrette
Serves 8
For the soup:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 cup small diced white or yellow onion (about 1/2 large onion)
1 large celery root (3/4-1 pound), peeled and diced small (2 1/2 cups)
1 large fennel bulb, sliced
1 small Yukon potato, diced small (about 1 cup)
4 apples (honey crisp or other variety- about 1 1/2 pounds) peeled, cored and diced
1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
½ cup dry white wine
1 cup apple cider
6 cups water
1/3 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For Tarragon Vinaigrette:
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1/2 cup vegetable or grapeseed oil
1/3 cup tarragon leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Heat butter in a heavy-bottomed sauce pot over medium-low heat. Add garlic and onions and sweat for 5 minutes. Stir in celery root, fennel, potato and apples and season with salt and pepper. Sweat for 15 minutes more until softened. Add white wine and reduce the liquid until almost dry, about 5 minutes. Add cider and water. Bring to a boil, and then reduce and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
While the soup simmers, make the vinaigrette. Put yolk, vinegar, mustard and honey in a blender. With the blender running, drizzle the oil through the opening in the lid and blend until thickened. Add in tarragon and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate until ready to use.
Remove the soup from the heat. Ladle it in batches into the blender and blend until smooth. (Place a towel over the lid of the blender to prevent hot liquid from splashing through the top.) Whisk in the cream and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. To serve, ladle into bowls and dollop with tarragon vinaigrette.
Wine Suggestion: Stephanie suggest a Sauvignon Blanc to go with this dish. Try the Morgan Sauvignon Blanc 2007.
