Recipe: Celeriac & Apple Soup

from Wild Greens & Sardines

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1½ cups sliced leeks
½ cup roughly chopped onion
¼ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 medium tart apples (such as Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and quartered
1 pounds celeriac, peeled and cubed
3-4 cups water
½ cup whole milk
Freshly ground pepper
For serving: piment d’espelette or smoked paprika

Heat the butter and olive oil together over medium heat in a large pot. Allow the butter to brown, just slightly. Add the chopped leeks and onion and cook, stirring often, until soft and shiny, about 5 minutes. Add the salt, nutmeg, and garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the celeriac, apples, and water to the pot. Cover and raise the heat to high. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples and celeriac fall apart, 30 to 40 minutes.

If you have an immersion blender, stick it into the pot and blend until smooth. Otherwise, transfer to an upright blender in batches and return to the pot. Add the milk, and taste to adjust salt and add pepper. Serve with a healthy dusting of piment d’espelette or smoked paprika.

Recipe: Celeriac & Leek Soup

Adapted From Dishing Up The Dirt

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium leeks (or one large), diced, white and light green parts only
1 small yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium-sized celeriac, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
Hefty pinch of salt
4 cups vegetable stock (plus more to thin as needed)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Crème Fraîche, or plain Yogurt for serving
Minced parsley for serving
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large heavy bottom pot over medium high heat. Add the leeks and onion and cook, stirring occasionally for about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, celeriac, potato and salt. Stir well. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes.

Remove from the heat and let the soup cool for a few minutes before transferring the soup (you may need to do this in batches) to a high speed blender and pureeing until completely smooth and creamy. (You can use a stick blender here but the soup wont be nearly as smooth and creamy.) Return the soup back to the pot, stir in the lemon juice and taste for seasonings. If the soup seems too thick add more stock or water. Keep the soup on low heat until ready to serve.

Serve with a drizzle of Crème Fraîche, or plain yogurt.

Recipe: Celery Root, Fennel, and Leek Mash

Serve this with sausages, braised meats, or your favorite vegetarian meat alternative!

1 medium-sized celeriac, peeled and diced
1 leek, white and light green parts thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, diced
1/4 cup milk or unsweetened almond milk
2 Tbs butter
1 teaspoon chilli powder
¾ teaspoon salt
pepper to taste

Add the chopped celeriac to a large pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, partially cover and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 25-35 minutes until the celeriac becomes tender.
Meanwhile cook the leek and fennel in a medium sized sauté pan on medium heat with butter. Cook until the fennel softens, this will take about 10-15 minutes. When cooked remove from heat and set aside.
When the celeriac is cooked, drain and return to the pot.
In a small blender (or food processor) add half the celeriac, half the fennel/leek mixtures and the remaining ingredients and pulse until well combined and no large chunks of celeriac remain.
Add the blender mixture back to the pot with the remaining celeriac and add the rest of the leek/fennel. Mash all together using a potato masher. Add in milk, taste and re-season if necessary.