Thanks so much for all your love and concern after my last post. Kye’s all better now, although we do still have a few tests coming up to try and find the cause of all the pain he felt. I’ve got my fingers crossed it was just some weird virus and that will be that. So as one kid went back to school this week, the other came down with a cold. I really can’t complain as we’ve all been happy and healthy for as long as I can remember. This was possibly the first winter since having kids that we’ve not spent weeks on end blowing our noses, so for that I am thankful. But it does mean I’ve had a sick little kid at home desperately in need of some love and nourishment the past few days, and as she is the soup queen of the house it only made sense to get some on for lunch.
I’ve been on a little bit of a celeriac bender lately, ever since I posted this salad recipe and was lucky enough to pick up two huge ones on special for just $1.50 each recently. I’ve been slowly getting through one of them all by myself by making bowlfuls of that salad for lunch most days, but I knew I needed to turn the other into a soup if I was to use it all up before it got old.
I used to use celeriac lots when I lived in Sydney years ago, but sadly it’s not the easiest thing to come across back home in NZ (hopefully times have changed and I am now wrong in saying that?) so for years I went without. I looked into buying seeds to grow it myself, but lets just say that’s as far as I got. Living over here in Australia (or in a city in general) really does have it’s advantages. Our local fruit and vege store is amazing and always has exciting vegetables for me to play with and then there’s our local farmers markets, where I stock up on all our staples and seasonal treats (huge trays of strawberries at the moment!).
This soup couldn’t be any easier. Celeriac and potato form the base and gives this soup it’s lovely creamy texture without the need of cream, while the little drizzle of peppery rocket (arugula) oil peps things up and also gives a lovely contrast visually. We set up the rug outside and ate lunch in the sun, where it’s always a damn-site warmer than inside our ice-box of a house.
I hope you’ve all been well and healthy. Next up I’ve got an exciting post to share and I promise, no more talk about sick kids. xx
creamy celeriac soup with rocket oil
I used homemade vegetable stock which I’d chucked a few sliced tomatoes into as well. This did make the soup have a slightly darker colour than most celeriac soups would have, but I loved the nice little bit of sweetness the tomatoes added to the overall flavour. If you don’t have any rocket, or can’t be bothered making the oil I reckon a little drizzle of any kind of pesto would be great too. Either homemade or store-bought.
Serves 4-6
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large celeriac, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
1 litre (4 cups) vegetable stock (I used homemade)
sea salt, to taste
rocket oil
a good big handful of rocket (arugula) leaves
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook while stirring for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant and tender. Add celeriac, potato and stock, season with a little sea salt. If your stock doesn’t cover the vegetables, top up with a touch more if you have extra, or just use water to cover. Bring up to the boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until the vegetables are really tender. Remove from the heat and blend until smooth using a stick blender or regular blender (in batches, if necessary). Thin with a little water to reach the desired consistency and season with sea salt, to taste. Serve soup hot drizzled with a little rocket oil (I also sprinkled over some baby parsley leaves and rosemary flowers).
To make the rocket oil, blend rocket leaves and oil together in a mini processor until smooth paste forms. Pass through a fine sieve, using a metal spoon to extract as much oil as you can from the paste. Discard leftover rocket and season the oil with a little salt.
32 Responses
Oh yes. This looks amazing! I think I will whip up a batch of this soup on our soup night (Friday night). This looks amazing. xxx
Enjoy! xx
Ooooh, this looks so delightful! I've never cooked with it before – perhaps I should give it a go 🙂
It's such a beautiful vegetable. Tastes of mellow celery, but goes creamy when cooked xx
I saw this soup on Pinterest and immediately freaked out. These are some of my absolute favorite flavors. The highest honor a food pin can get is ending up on my "make" board : )
Celeraic is a fav as are oils with greens I cannot wait to try this. It will inevitably happen & probably inspire something else too. LOVE.
And I hope you & yours get and stay well!
Thanks Beth! xx
Looks really nice! Saving for next soup day.
Oh no! You have been having a rough time of it with your kids recently haven't you? This soup looks just the thing when the family is feeling a bit under the weather, beautiful!
Yeah bad few weeks, although like I said we have been really lucky this winter so no complaints here xx
Glad the kiddies are on the mend, Spring can't come soon enough! I have been drooling over celariac but it's been about $7 each. Your soup might just tempt me into spending the big bucks 🙂
Ouch, $7 each is steep isn't it?! I had been paying around $4 each and I thought that was bad enough!
Celery root is one of my favourite vegetables. So completely underrated over here in Canada! We're lucky to have quite a few of them around once fall comes, which is so soon. We grew them a couple years ago and it was so fun to dig the knobby roots up. I'd be happy to send you a few seeds in the post if you like 🙂
Thanks Laura! Sadly I'm not sure they would get through customs though. We can't even order seeds from the east coast of Australia the quarantine laws are that strict here in Western Australia! I'm sure I could get my hands on some seeds here if I really wanted too xx
It's really cold up here tonight – we've even got the heat on. This would would be a treat to cozy up to.
Oh, wow! I never know what on earth to do with celeriac–I mean, remoulade, I guess–but a rich soup sounds like a fabulous solution. Love that super-vibrant and GREEN oil too!
So pretty!
That rocket oil looks killer good. Gotta make this as soon as we get our first chilly evening.
Thanks, Emma.
PS-My latest giveaway is open to my overseas friends. So please do enter. xo
Wow, $1.50 for 2 celeriac. What a bargain!! I've been keeping an eye out for them here but the ones I've come across are $10 each.
Love this gorgeous soup. Especially the rocket oil. It looks so pretty against the creamy soup.
$10 each! Far out. I don't get why they are so damn expensive?! I'll cherish the last little piece of mine 🙂
What beautiful bowls of perfectly creamy and nutritious soup! Lovely.
Looks delicious, reminds me of potato soup that I fix in the winter.
I think being on the cusp of season change is bringing us closer to food harmony across the hemispheres! (: All I've been able to think about lately are soups and root vegetables and hearty squashes. Celeriac is one of my favorites, and this soup is pretty much exactly what I want to eat right now. If only the weather would cooperate and cool down a little…
Yes the milder seasons of autumn and spring do seem to bring us into line more with our foods 🙂
Ooh, yum! I have only made soup once, but I think I need to try my hand at it again. This looks delicious!
Consistency looks good! I belive in you and this soup!
Made this last night and was delicious. I added some truffle oil on the top and worked well. Thanks for a great recipe. Really lovely soup.
Oh so stoked you made it Peter! And truffle oil? Now that sounds gooood! xx
I haven't hade celeriac in ages, actually, it is not exactly easy to find here, and I don't grow it. But I could do the rocket oil :-). The photos are lovely 🙂
Ciao
Alessandra
Thanks Alessandra, yes it's such a shame it's not that easy to come across back in NZ. That's why I'm making the most of it while we still live over here 🙂 xx
Today I almost though of buying sweed to make soup, but my husband is not keen on it (I need to hide it in other mix vegetable potages!)
BTW, I am looking for a host for Sweet NZ in September, are you interested? This month's host is Marnelli (enter a recipe here if you like, old ones are good too http://sweetsandbrains.wordpress.com/2013/07/31/sweet-new-zealand-25/)
Ciao
A.
I've been meaning to explore celeriac more. Definitely a rainy day soup!
Emma, oh poor sick kiddo! Having a mama like you who makes creamy pureed deliciousness like this soup makes it much much easier to get well.
xoxo
E
Great celeriac soup for vegans like me. Nice pictures as well.