Ginger is used in Dominican cooking in desserts and the ever-welcome ginger tea. It is not a traditional part of our savory cuisine. I’ve set out to change that.
OK, that would be a bit too ambitious. But in the meantime let me share with you the many ways in which we use ginger at home. Not having ginger for us would be as rare as not having oregano or garlic, and in contrast with the Dominican tradition, more often than not we use it in savory dishes.
The first celery root (or celeriac) recipe that we published was found by Aunt Ilana in the high mountains and colder climate of the Central Mountain Range (Cordillera Central), where the temperature allows for this crop. Going to the other extreme, Aunt Ilana brought us the news that “green” ginger was grown in Samana.
What a great way to combine the flavors of our cold(ish) mountains and our beautiful coast!
And to add a bit of my own culinary heritage I added thyme, an obligatory ingredient in soups and stews in the northwest of the Dominican Republic, where I hail from.
The result of all this mixing? A creamy soup, light but filling and with a very refreshing taste provided by the ginger, and the earthy tones of fresh thyme.
Hmm, that sounded too highfaluting. What I meant to say was “it was fantastic, and I ate two bowls”. So, there.
Ingredients from our mountains to our coast combine in a delicious, refreshing and filling soup.
This is based on a similar recipe Aunt ilana makes, but I used celeriac (root of celery) instead of squash.
Ingredients
- 2 lb celeriac, peeled and cubed
- 1/2 cup of ginger, peeled and sliced
- 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 large onion, cubed
- 3 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon of dry leaves
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 6 cups of vegetable stock or 2 vegetable bouillon cubes dissolved in 6 cups of water
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan over low heat.
- Add ginger and cook and stir for a minute.
- Add onion and thyme and cook and stir until onions becomes transparent.
- Add carrot and celeriac, cook over low heat for 5 minutes, stir often to prevent them from burning or sticking to the pan.
- Add vegetable stock, cook over low heat until the vegetables are tender.
- Remove from the heat and let it cool to room temperature.
- Remove the thyme sprigs and blend to desired smoothness (I prefer it not too "creamy").
- Reheat in a deep pot, adding more water if necessary.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Aunt Clara's Kitchen is a collection of traditional Dominican and Dominican-inspired recipes, home ideas, crafts, and the chronicles of Aunt Clara and Aunt Ilana's adventures.
![Blender [US]](http://dominican.lcb.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/2013-04-23_2223-140x159.png)
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Here in Puerto Rico we don’t use much ginger. Some people add it to Arroz con Dulce, others just can’t stand the taste. I don’t like ginger tea, but I’ll take ginger in any other dish.
My best soup ever was one with celeriac and I can't wait to try it out with ginger, thanks for this recipe!
That soup looks so soothing and i love the addition of ginger in soup. Beautiful blog u have !
Looks very comforting!
I am like you – ginger is a staple in my fridge. Just found you on foodgawker. You have an awesome blog! Love your photos.
gorgeous photos!
I've been looking for a new vegetarian-root vegetable soup to start off my Thanksgiving dinner this year & thanks to you, I've found it! If you ask me, the huge turkey feast is a bit stodgy, and all that ginger is just the thing to perk things up! To boot, there's no cream. Perfect. Thanks so much!