Go Back
a plain bowl of creamy ivory potato chowder with many soft golden potato cubes and tiny pale celery-root pieces, with no corn, bacon, cheese, herbs or garnish
Rachel Kim

Potato Chowder

Celery root adds a gentle savory edge to this potato chowder without turning it into another bacon-and-cheese bowl. Keep the potato pieces larger than the celery-root dice so they hold their place after a few strokes with the masher. The broth should thicken around visible pieces, not become a completely smooth puree. Milk and a little cream finish the pot once the vegetables are tender. Peel the celery root with a knife and trim away the rough creases before weighing it; the clean flesh cooks evenly and lets the potatoes remain the main ingredient in every spoonful.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
  • 8 oz peeled celery root cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 medium yellow onion finely diced
  • 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • 3/4 tsp fine salt
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Method
 

  1. Melt butter in a soup pot over medium heat and cook onion for 7 minutes until soft. Add celery root and cook for 3 minutes, stirring.
  2. Add potatoes, broth, bay leaf, salt and white pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover partly and cook for 20 to 25 minutes until both vegetables are tender.
  3. Remove the bay leaf. Mash directly in the pot with 6 to 8 firm strokes of a potato masher, leaving most potato cubes intact.
  4. Stir in milk and cream. Warm over low heat for 5 minutes until steaming, stirring along the bottom and avoiding a hard boil.
  5. Divide among 6 bowls, spooning both the creamy broth and the potato pieces into each portion.