The harsh winter mornings bringing frosts coupled with the ferocious windy chill to the air has found me longing for more comfort. This coldness seeps into your bones and whilst putting on layers like a military exercise I attempted an early morning purposeful walk inspired by shopping for food to cook, that I want to return home to.
A simple good soup is hard to find, and in winter is what I crave for, along with a good loaf of bread and some great butter. I decided to make a soup using such a humble, cheap and beautiful ingredient, Celeriac. It takes 30 minutes and there are leftovers which we had the next day and were so full we could hardly stand. My son doesn’t like Mushrooms so I added them as a garnish for me although the soup works on its own. The day after I added Gruyere Cheese and dried onions (bought from the supermarket) which added crunch.
The great thing about this recipe is the thickness of celeriac when mashed. It was so thick I added stock and single cream for a luxurious consistency. You could easily add vegetable stock for a vegan alternative. Celeriac has an earthy taste pairing well with mushrooms or cheese. Rather than going overboard with every ingredient under the sun in one dish, I prefer to keep it simple and can add the fresh or dried mushrooms fried in some smoked garlic I got last week at the market, or simple grated cheese on top. This soup is a winner, coating your bones and resolve for a hard winter and January ahead. Buy celeriac when you see it at Farmers Markets or local stores. It freezes well too and sings with its earthy perfume smelling of allotments and woodiness. The fresh green tops if you are lucky enough to find them, before being butchered by the greengrocers or worse still sold separately, make a good pesto, Sadly I was not that lucky but will be seeking these out with glee, getting more for my money. Also very nice on thick bread slathered with good butter and drizzled with pesto. I made do with a find of fresh unsalted capers, which I put on top of my bread and butter. Divine.
Ingredients
Feeds 4 or 2 with good leftovers
Takes 35 minutes
1 smallish celeriac head. You will mostly see large ones and if so buy and eat for a week.
2 medium sized onions
4 cloves of garlic
1.5 pints of stock (vegetable or chicken – fresh or jellied cubes)
100ml of single cream
Salt and pepper
Big handful of Fresh Thyme
Good bread and some very good butter
200g of fresh mushrooms
More garlic
More butter to fry the mushrooms
Capers on the bread and butter to add a sharpness
Optional – works the next day.
Grate some Gruyere Cheese, a parmesan or cheddar will also work
Dried crispy onions – can buy from supermarket or make your own
Capers on bread and butter for additional sharpness on rich butter.
Coarsely chop the onion and garlic and add to a big pot using a swig of olive oil or butter.
Add the chopped celeriac to the pot – but into about 2cm squares.
Fry on a medium heat until soft and golden.
Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Add the stock of your choice.
Let it cook down until the celeriac is soft.
Add the Thyme.
Adjust the heat to a simmer.
Top up with more stock if needed.
Using a hand blender blitz until you have a smooth consistency, The mixture will be very thick and you will need to add more stock to thin out, ensuring it does not stick to the bottom of the saucepan.
Cook on a low heat
Cook for 20 minutes.
Add single cream (optional) at the end for a creamy consistency.
Mushrooms
Clean the mushrooms
Coarsely chop the garlic (smoked or otherwise)
Fry in butter. Drain on kitchen paper
To serve, ladle the soup into bowls
Add the mushrooms on top or add grated cheese with fried onion bits
Eat with bread and good butter.
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