These vegetables need a really, really good wash to remove soils. While this white soup might seem delicate, the melding of these unique vegetables creates a rich smooth flavor. Deglazing the pan after caramelizing the veggies is key for flavor development.

For the soup:
3–4 tablespoons organic butter
1–2 celeriac (about 1–2 pounds), peeled and roughly chopped
10 Jerusalem artichokes (about 1 pound), roughly chopped
3 smallish potatoes, diced
2 large leeks, sliced (white and pale green parts only)
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
Salt and pepper
Verjuice, light port or bourbon
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1⁄2 teaspoon fresh ground ginger
3 fresh sprigs savory (or 1⁄2 teaspoon dried)
5 fresh sprigs marjoram (or 1⁄2 teaspoon dried)
1⁄2 cup Big B's Ginger Apple juice
3 1⁄2 ounces heavy whipping cream
1⁄2 cup sour cream

In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the celeriac, Jerusalem artichokes, potatoes, leeks, onion and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables gently
until they caramelize, about 15–25 minutes. Remove veggies from the pan and deglaze the pan with a nice verjuice (juice of unripe grapes), light port or bourbon of your choice. Put
everything back in the pan, add the stock, herbs and Big B’s juice, bring to a low boil, then simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes until the celeriac is completely tender. Remove the herb sprigs and stems.

Add both creams to the soup. Working in batches, purée the soup in a blender until smooth. Return soup purée to the same saucepan and bring to a serving temperature without boiling
again. Simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors, thinning with more broth if soup is too thick. If you’d like to avoid cream, milk is a fine substitute. I love rice milk as a substitution!

For the beet purée:
2–3 medium beets, boiled and well cooked
Balsamic vinegar
Sweet red wine or rosé
Purée beets with some balsamic and wine.

For the dish:
Parmesan or Asiago cheese

Ladle soup into bowls; top with a “zigzag” of beet purée and shredded cheese. (Avalanche aged goat cheese would taste awesome too.)