It’s officially soup weather again. And with that storm raging outside it seems like the perfect time to share my recipe for this Celeriac and Pear Soup.

I’ll be honest, celeriac is one of those foods like fennel that I never liked and have only come to appreciate it in the last few years. I probably like it best when it is raw in a slaw or salad, or even in celeriac remoulade. Watching Great British Menu last week there was a dish with celeriac with truflle and I was thinking of a soup with celeriac and mushroom. However, seeing that it is regularly served with pears I thought I’d go with those instead. Matching it with pears adds a delicious sweet element to the soup. It also makes the soup perfect for Autumn produce.

Useful tips & links:

• I love cooking onions in bacon fat, it adds such good flavour to them. And of course you get to eat the bacon or serve it on top afterwards. Just leave it out if you want the soup to be vegetarian.
• Blue cheese goes so well with these flavours that I decided to dot some on top when serving. It is delicious with it so I highly recommend giving it a try.
• A sprinkling of chopped nuts on top would add a delicious crunch, or you could add croutons.
• A little cream adds richness to the soup but like cauliflower, the celeriac actually makes it quite creamy once blended so the cream is optional if you want vegan soup.
• I like to serve the soup with this Guinness Brown Bread.
• For more warming soup recipes click here.
• Have a look at this delicious Celeriac Remoulade from Franck of Hungry Breton.

 

 

 

 

Celeriac and Pear Soup

Serves 4-6

 

Ingredients:

• A few slices of pancetta or smoked streaky bacon
• Olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 celeriac, peeled and cubed
• 2 large pears, peeled cored and cubed
• 500ml of hot chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper
• Some double cream or milk (optional)
• Chives and blue cheese to garnish (optional)

 

Method:

• Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large pan and fry the pancetta or bacon until crispy. Remove the cooked bacon, leaving the fat in the pan, and drain it on some kitchen paper. Keep it for garnishing later.
• Gently fry the onion in the bacon fat until it has softened. Add the garlic and fry for another couple of minutes.
• Add the cubes of celeriac and pear to the pan and fry for a few minutes. Pour in the hot stock, add the bay leaves and season with a little salt and pepper. Cover the pan and simmer for about 20 minutes.
• Check to see if the celeriac is cooked, it should be easily pierced with a knife. Remove the bay leaves and blend the soup.
• Add a splash of cream or milk to add richness to the soup and taste for seasoning. If it is too thick you can add some water to loosen it a bit.
• I like to serve it with a few pieces of blue on top and with some of the bacon crumbled over. Garnish with chopped chives.