Recipe from The First Mess by Laura Wright

Laura’s idea for this recipe was to use many winter-white veggies, but as we do not have parsnips, perhaps you could use a bit of carrot or turnips?  It also calls for celery root (celeriac), but I think you could use some potato instead.  

1 TB Virgin Olive Oil

1 large Onion, small dice - about 1 3/4 cups

1 Leek, small dice - white and light green part only

4 cloves Garlic, minced

2 tsp minced fresh Thyme leaves

1 medium parsnip, peeled and chopped (substitute turnips and or carrot)

1 1/2 cups Celery Root (potato instead?), peeled, chopped into 1” pieces

2 cups Romanesco florets (original recipe is cauliflower) 

1 1/2 TB grainy Mustard

Salt and Pepper, to taste

2 tsp Nutritional Yeast

1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning

1/4 cup fresh Lemon Juice

3 1/2 cups Vegetable Stock, plus extra if needed

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat.  Add the diced onions and saute until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes.  Add the leeks and continue to saute until the leeks are soft, about 4 minutes more.  Add the minced garlic and thyme, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, stirring constantly.  Add the chopped parsnip (turnips and or carrots), celery root (potato) and Romanesco florets and stir to coat in the oil.  Add the grainy mustard, salt and pepper, nutritional yeast and Old Bay seasoning.  Stir to coat vegetables in the spices.  Add the lemon juice and stir.  Add the vegetable stock, stir again, cover, and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, remove the lid and reduce the heat to a simmer.  Let the chowder cook and bubble until the root veg are tender, about 15 to 18 minutes.  Ladle half of the stew into a blender and carefully puree until smooth.  Pour the pureed portion of stew back into the soup pot.  If the stew is too thick, add enough vegetable stock to loosen it up to your liking.  Bring the stew back to a boil and serve hot.