No. 251 — Carrots, Parsley Root and Celery for Garnish

Wash in cold running water, brushing away soil. Soak in cold water for one hour, then cut off the green tops and the very thin ends of the roots.

Blanch the vegetables: put them into clean warm water, bring once to the boil, drain in a colander and rinse with cold water. Remove the outer skin with a bone knife.

Shred very finely into thread-like strips, carve into decorative shapes, slice into rounds or divide each root lengthwise into several pieces; transfer to a small saucepan.

One hour before serving, add just enough strained broth to cover and cook until tender. Lift into the soup tureen with a perforated spoon and strain the cooking broth into it.

Young small carrots, called karotel, are added whole. For printanière soup, the roots are carved into small rounds; for julienne soup, shredded into long threads; for ordinary broth, cut into little elongated pieces.

Original note: trimmings left from the shaped roots can be added to the main stock with the basic roots. The author observes that abroad the finely chopped trimmings were sometimes immediately dried on paper-lined shelves and added to stores of dried roots for winter or early spring, when fresh vegetables were unavailable.