Celery root and leek soup

The Goods*:

1.5 ounces flour (~3 tbsp)

1 ounce butter (~2 tbsp)

1 medium-sized leek (white part only)

3 cups milk

1 lb celery root

3 ounces cream

fresh lemon juice

Melt the butter over medium-low heat in your favorite soup-making pot. Add the flour and cook until the color of the roux matches your preferred shade of roux-done-ness. Cut the leek into 1/4" slices. Add the leek slices and a pinch of salt. Be sure to keep the contents of the pan moving to avoid the roux sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning. Cook until they've softened considerably, then add the milk. Allow the milk to come up to a simmer and thicken a bit. Trim the rough outer skin from the celery root. Slice the root into small cubes and reserve some for garnish, if you're into the whole presentation thing**.

Add the celery root chunks and cook in the milk until they are soft. Remove from the heat and add to the blender or food processor (this would be a good place to use an immersion blender). Pass the pureed soup through a strainer. Add the cream and a splash of fresh lemon juice before serving. This will provide five small starter portions, or probably a meal for two.

*This is a much more verbatim following of a Ratio^ recipe. In fact, Ruhlman talks about using Celery Root as the focus vegetable here. I swapped the onion for leek, because I've been on a leek spree of late and they are oh so tasty.

^If you cook at all, even a tiny bit, purchase this book. Today.

**I decided to save some and slice it thinly. I then fried these in canola oil to make celery root chips.