CELERIAC AND APPLE SOUP
Although spring has sprung the weather can be deceptively cold! Make this soup before heading out on a fresh stroll, for a quick delicious lunch to warm you up when you return.
So what is a celeriac?- it’s a large, bumpy, brown vegetable. It is a variety of celery and part of the same family as parsley, parsnips, and carrots - and lots of culinary uses (it can be roasted, boiled, steamed, mashed, and even grated raw into salads). Unlike celery where the shoots are harvested, it is the big bulbous stem of the celeriac which is the focal point.
It’s not pretty and may look slightly alien alongside some of the vegetables we are used too, but I encourage you to give this vegetable some love! It has nutty celery-like flavour, that sweetens when roasted.
The celeriac in this soup provides a subtle earthy flavour with hints of sweetness from the apple - it is rich, creamy, and utterly delicious!
The main ingredients (celeriac, leek and potatoes) in this dish are all from the UK (the potatoes are actually grown on the Isle of Wight). All came in last week’s Living Larder Delivery (local vegetable boxes are a great way to diversify your diet and embrace seasonal eating.
Recipe
Time to create: 45 minutes
Servings: 2-3
Ingredients
1 medium celeriac (approximately 240g when prepared) - peeled and cut into 1cm by 1cm cubes
1 apple peeled and cut into 1cm by 1cm cubes
2 medium potatoes peeled and cut into 1cm by 1cm cubes
1 leek sliced
Vegetable stock (500ml of water + 1 vegetable stock cube (recommend Kallo organic vegetable stock cubes)
150ml of milk (I used almond but you could use dairy)
1 tsp of thyme (+ extra to sprinkle on top)
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp of olive oil
A couple of hazelnuts chopped in half and lightly toasted under the grill to garnish
Method
Heat the olive oil in a large pan before adding the celeriac, leek, apple, potatoes, and thyme and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes. The leeks should have begun to soften.
Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes, or until the celeriac and potato have softened but still kept their shape (you should be able to comfortably put a knife through the vegetables).
Remove from the heat, add the almond milk and blend using a hand blender until you have a smooth soup.
Return to the heat before serving and top with toasted hazelnuts and a sprinkling of thyme.
Top tips:
Before using the celeriac make sure its scrubbed well. Trim the top and the bottom, then use a peeler to remove the brown peel. Note: Celeriac will discolour if the peeled flesh is left exposed to air. Either use right away or submerge in cool lemon water to use later.
If you do not have a hand blender, leave to cool before adding to a blender and blending.
