It’s that time of year when comfort food is a must. The end of January means we’re ploughing our way through winter but the weather is still grey and cold, the nights long and Spring seems a long way off.
I treated myself to some sneaky winter sun by nipping back to India for a week; the winter weather in Bangalore is near perfect for me – bright blue skies, high 20’s in the day, cooler in the mornings. Coming back to a fresh north wind, snow showers and minus 0 temperatures is my penance!
Having left the family home alone, I was expecting the fridge to be bare yesterday lunchtime – fortunately the Riverford vegetable box had arrived so there was lots of fresh produce to play with. Soup was definitely in order, and there on the shelf waiting for me was one of my favourite veggies – celeriac.
A member of the same family as celery, the bulbous roots are cultivated rather then the stems and leaves. I feel a bit sorry for celeriac as it just a bit bobbly and ugly – it reminds me of The Ood on Dr Who! But as the saying goes, true beauty lies within, and underneath the cracks and bumps lies clear, creamy flesh that tastes rich and satisfying when cooked. Of course, it can be finely sliced and used in salads or remoulade, but that’s another blog post.
versatile winter vegetable
Celeriac is under-rated as a winter root vegetable – nutritionally it’s packed full of fibre, essential for a healthy gut, as well as potassium, vitamin C, K and B, some magnesium and manganese. If you want a potato substitute, it works brilliantly as a mash and has a lower GI as it releases it’s sugars more slowly, great if you are diabetic or pre-diabetic. It also has minimal fat content, and of course no cholesterol, so combined with the high fibre levels, works brilliantly to help reduce your LDL cholesterol levels (the bad stuff!).
a baked sharing option
As the oven was on for a long time at Christmas, I baked a celeriac whole and served it whole. Everyone could help themselves, spooning out the creamy flesh straight from the foil. It was delicious. If you want to do that, it takes about 2 hours 20 minutes, depending on the size of your celeriac.
Clean the outside skin as much as possible and rub with salt and a little olive oil. Drop a couple of garlic cloves on the top and then wrap up in tin foil. Place in an oven on a baking dish at 180°C and bake for 2 hours, then open up the foil and cook for another 20 minutes. The celeriac should be soft to the touch. Take out of the oven and cut open, add some extra virgin olive oil if you so desire and serve as it is.
But that is not the recipe for today – now you have two for the price of one! This celeriac and apple soup is fabulous and really quick and easy to make. It’s comforting, warming and filling – all the things you need on a winters day – packed with minerals, vitamins and phytonutrients to keep you healthy. It’s low in fat, high in fibre, gluten free and nut free, making it suitable for everyone apart from those with a celery allergy. Serve with some chopped chives and a glug of extra virgin olive oil or cold pressed flaxseed oil. Serious comfort, dairy free and delicious!
And if you enjoy this recipe, then you’ll probably enjoy my other celeriac soups – roasted carrot and celeriac soup or leek and celeriac. Both super tasty and packed for of celeriac loveliness. Enjoy!
Creamy celeriac and apple soup
Ingredients
Method
- Heat a couple of tablespoons of water in a large pan and add the onion and celery. Pop on the lid and sweat on a medium/low heat for 5 minutes.
- Whilst this is cooking, peel the celeriac and apple and chop into small chunks - both start to oxidise when open to the air, so you want to work fast so they don't get too discoloured.
- Add them to the pan with the garlic and continue to sweat with the lid on for a few minutes on a low heat to caramelise a little.
- Add the thyme, celery salt and stock to cover. Pop the lid back on and simmer for 20 minutes or so until all the veggies and apple are soft.
- Leave to cool for a few minutes, then blitz with a hand blender until smooth. If the soup is too thick for you, add more stock or dairy-free milk to make it creamer.
- Check the flavour and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Reheat gently and serve, garnish with a glug of oil and chives if you so desire.
Nutrition
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