Celeriac is one of those underrated root vegetables like turnips or swede that perhaps some of us shy away from simply because we don't know what to do with it in a recipe. So here, I give you my celeriac soup. The celeriac is the star of this show; however, it has a great supporting cast of added flavours. What's more, I write this in late January, winter here in the UK, when celeriac is in season, and I'm an advocate of eating seasonally. Enjoy this winter warmer!
Celeriac isn't an attractive-looking vegetable; don't let that put you off using it in your recipes. Also known as celery root, it has a celery-like taste. It cooks like potato and can be roasted, mashed, and used in stews or, as in this recipe, in soups. You can even eat it raw. Celeriac is an excellent low-carb alternative to potatoes.
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Ingredients
- Celeriac
- Garlic-15g
- Red onion
- White rice
- Olive oil
- Vegetable stock
- Cinnamon stick
- Carom seeds
- Salt
Ingredients For Preserved Lemon & Parsley Salsa
- Garlic-15g
- Aleppo chilli
- Salt
- Preserved lemon
- Parsley
- Olive oil
- Spring onion
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions For Celeriac Soup
First, prepare your ingredients:
- Finely chop red onions and garlic.
- Peel and dice the celeriac into 1 cm dice.
- Soak the rice for about 30 minutes and then rinse.
In a pot over medium heat, add 50 ml of olive oil, the cinnamon stick, and the carom seeds. Allow to bloom (see FAQs) for a minute.
Add the onion and garlic and fry until soft.
Then add the diced celeriac and cook for about eight to ten minutes.
Pour in the vegetable stock and water and season with salt.
Add the soaked and drained rice.
Cover and bring to a boil. Then immediately reduce the heat and cook covered over medium heat for about 30 to 40 minutes, until the celeriac and rice are soft and cooked.
Once cooked, transfer half of the celeriac soup into a blender and puree. Add the pureed soup back to the pot and mix to combine.
Instructions For Preserved Lemon & Parsley Salsa
While the soup is cooking, make the preserved lemon and parsley salsa.
First, prepare your ingredients:
- Evenly slice 15g of garlic.
- Finely chop preserved lemon.
- Roughly chop parsley leaves.
- Finely slice spring onions.
Combine the parsley, lemon and spring onion in a bowl.
Heat the rest of the olive oil in a small pan and fry the garlic until golden. Now add the Aleppo chilli and remove the pan from the heat.
Pour the garlic-Aleppo-oil mix into the lemon-parsley-spring onion mix and combine.
Serve the celeriac soup with the preserved lemon and parsley salsa.
Substitutions
Instead of preserved lemon, you can slice and grill lemon slices and finely chop them for the salsa.
You can exchange the parsley for coriander or chervil.
If you don't have Aleppo chilli, you can use chilli flakes, paprika, cayenne, or chilli powder. Add it after removing the garlic from the heat.
Storage
This celeriac soup can be refrigerated in an air-tight container for up to three days.
Top tip
When frying the garlic slices for the salsa, ensure all the slices are even, or else some will turn golden faster than others, resulting in some being burnt and bitter. Fry them over medium heat so that they get cooked and turn golden and crispy.
FAQs
Blooming spices involves briefly cooking them in oil or a dry pan to release their fragrance and flavour before adding them to other ingredients.
Related Recipes
Need more warming soups? Try these:
Pairing
Here are some dishes I think will go well with this celeriac soup:
📖 Recipe
Celeriac Soup
Ingredients
- 1 kg Celeriac
- 90 g Red onion
- 30 g Garlic
- 80 g White rice
- 500 ml Vegetable Stock
- 40 g Preserved lemon
- 10 g Parsley
- 3 Spring onions
- ½ tsp Aleppo chilli
- ½ teaspoon Carom seeds
- 2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 100 ml Olive oil
- 500 ml water
Instructions
Making the soup
- Finely chop the red onions and 15g of the garlic.
- Peel and cut the celeriac into 1 cm dice.
- Soak and rinse the rice for about 30 minutes.
- In a pot over medium heat, add 50 ml of olive oil. Bloom the cinnamon stick and carom seeds in the oil for 1 minute .
- Add the onion and garlic and fry until soft.
- Add the diced celeriac and cook for about 10 minutes.
- Add the vegetable stock and water and season with salt.
- Add the rinsed and drained rice.
- Cover and bring to a boil. Then immediately reduce the heat and cook covered over medium heat for about 40 minutes, until the celeriac and rice are soft and cooked.
- Once cooked, transfer half of the celeriac soup into a blender and puree. Add it back to the pot and mix to combine.
Making the preserved lemon salsa
- While the soup is cooking, peel and evenly slice 15g of garlic.
- Finely chop the preserved lemon.
- Roughly chop the parsley leaves.
- Finely slice the spring onion.
- Combine the parsley, lemon and spring onion in a bowl.
- Heat the rest of the olive oil in a small pan and fry the garlic until golden. Now add the Aleppo chilli and remove the pan from the heat.
- Pour the garlic/Aleppo chilli/olive oil mix into the lemon/parsley/spring onion mix and combine.
- Serve the soup garnished with the preserved lemon and parsley salsa.
Nutrition
Food Safety
In a professional kitchen, food hygiene and safety are top priorities, and from the beginning of my training, I practised good habits and routines. Of course, practising good food hygiene and safety at home is also essential. Here are some fundamental practices to adopt in the kitchen.
- Wash your hands regularly while preparing, handling and cooking food.
- Wipe down countertops and high-contact points regularly.
- If you cook meat and fish, do not use the same utensils on cooked food that previously touched raw meat. Use separate chopping boards for meat and fish. Wash your chopping boards immediately after use.
- Thoroughly cook food to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C).
- Don't leave food at room temperature for extended periods (more than 2 hours).
- Store food correctly.
For more details regarding food hygiene and safety in the home, visit the UK Government's Food Standards Agency webpage.
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