This roasted celeriac soup with apple is velvety and delicious. Using roasted celeriac in the recipe gives this soup depth, rich flavours and and warmth.
Roasted celeriac soup
Roast vegetable soups are one of my favourite comfort foods. They are so easy to throw together and low in cost. What’s more, they can be as impressive on the dinner party table as they are nourishing to body and soul.
I love winter root vegetables. Not only are they full of flavour but they are also good for you and very good value.
I usually roast them, because it concentrates the flavours, caramelizing the sugars and neutralizing any bitterness.
Celeriac, also known as celery root, is an underused vegetable but it is perfect for soup. I’ve added an apple to my roasted celeriac soup as they pair brilliantly, adding another layer of flavour.
In general it is milder and more mellow than celery, so please don’t dismiss it. You may find that you like celeriac, if you don’t like celery.
Celeriac is wonderfully nutritious. It is particularly high in vitamin K and potassium, but is also a good source of vitamin C and numerous essential minerals. It is relatively low in carbohydrates and calories, and all-round good for you.
Mild and nutty in flavour, it has a hint of celery but without the fresh assertiveness of the stems. If you are not keen on celery, please don’t dismiss celeriac without trying it. This is a much more mellow flavour.
Celeriac soup
I’ve used a batch of roasted celeriac in the soup. I make it regularly so that I always have some ready to add to soups, rice dishes, curries and even pasta!
Usually in a roasted vegetable soup I’d use a soffritto base. I then add the ready roasted vegetables and good quality stock or bouillon before whizzing it all up to make a delicious soup. Effortlessly fuss free!
However, as celeriac is celery root we can skip the celery in this soup. Because you have sweetness from the apple, you don’t need the carrot.
This soup recipe is very adaptable. You need to keep the proportions of liquid to fruit and vegetables about the same, but you can vary it with your favourite spices or by adding other veg.
If you are serving it at a dinner party, I do think this roasted celeriac and apple soup benefits from a garnish, as the colour is quite pale, but there are lots of possibilities for this.
Why you will love this
- This celeriac soup recipe is very adaptable. You can easily vary the flavours, by adding some spice for example.
- It’s easy – all you need is celeriac, onion, garlic, an apple, herbs and some stock.
- All the ingredients are are affordable and easy to find and store.
- Celeriac soup freezes well and is perfect for bulk cooking, so double up the recipe, portion and freeze. Take it to work frozen (no leaking on your journey), leave on your desk to defrost all morning and then microwave for lunch!
- The soup is delicious, and an unusual flavour. Even if you don’t like celery, you will probably like this.
Roast celeriac soup ingredients
- Roasted celeriac – See our step by step tutorial on how to prepare and roast celeriac. If you haven’t roasted your celeriac in advance, I’ve got a short cut in the alternative method below.
- Garlic & Onion – I always keep some in the salad drawer of my fridge. If you are feeling lazy, you can buy frozen bags of ready chopped onions and simply fry from frozen.
- Apple – Any regular apple, eater or cooker – not too big, not too small, with a good flavour
- Parsley – A handful of fresh parsley or other leafy herbs. Fresh is always best but I don’t have much space for plants, so I buy a big bunch ever couple of weeks.
Helen’s Fuss Free Tip
Keep parsley in a jug of water in the fridge, where it easily lasts two or more weeks. To make it last even longer, put a plastic bag over it and check the water level every few days. You can also freeze parsley. It will keep its flavour, but doesn’t work for garnish!
- Olive Oil – Good quality extra virgin oil. I try to stick to extra virgin oil. It is unrefined and has a good balance of omegas 3 and 6.
- Stock or Bouillon – Use your favourite here, vegetable and chicken are both fine.
- Lemon – Lemon juice magically transforms this soup from good to really rather delicious. It won’t taste of lemon. From a bottle is fine, although I usually use fresh.
How to make roasted celeriac soup step-by-step
Before you start, read my step-by-step instructions, with photos, hints and tips so you can make it perfectly every time.
Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.
Step One – Have your roasted celeriac ready to make the soup.
This can be done ahead of time. If you make a bulk batch, you can use the rest to add to all sorts of dishes through the week. It also freezes well. If you haven’t done this, see Alternative method below.
Step Two – Peel the onion and garlic, and roughly chop.
Helen’s Fuss Free Tip
No need to cut everything up too finely, we are going to blitz it all up to soup – a rough chop is fine.
Put the olive oil into a medium sized saucepan, and fry the onion over a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring all the time.
Then add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes until the onion is translucent. It should be turning golden at the edges and will also smell delicious.
Pro Tip
Garlic takes less time to cook than onion and also easily burns (which tastes horrid). When frying always cook the onion for a while then add the garlic.
Step Three – Core the apple and cut into chunks (no need to peel).
Add the roasted celeriac, apple, parsley and stock to the pan. Then give it a good stir and add some pepper and salt. Put the lid on and bring to a simmer. Then turn the heat right down and leave to simmer gently for 20 minutes.
Helen’s Fuss Free Tip
Use all of the parsley, both leaves and stalks, because the stalks are full of flavour. I tear the bunch into two or three with my hands, depending how long the stalks are. No need to chop them up finely, as we are blitzing the soup.
Step Four – It is ready when all the vegetables are very soft.
Step Five – Whizz the soup with an immersion or stick blender. (If you prefer, you can use a blender or food processor.) Then taste and adjust the seasoning. You can add a little more stock if the soup needs thinning.
Step Six – Stir in the lemon juice. If you like a creamier soup, you can also add a knob of butter.
Alternative method
If you haven’t pre roasted the celeriac
- Dice your celeriac and toss in the olive oil and pepper and salt. Then put in the oven to roast for half an hour at 200°C / 400°F / GM6.
- Half way through roasting, add the roughly chopped onion.
- Five minutes before the end of roasting, add the chopped garlic.
- Add all the veggies to the saucepan, and then use the stock to deglaze the roasting pan before adding to the pot. You can now follow the recipe above from Step Three.
To serve
I like soup garnished. Top your roasted celeriac and apple soup with seeds, chopped fresh herbs, plain yoghurt – anything you like! Here are some ideas.
- Serve with a swirl of cream, crème fraiche or soured cream and some snipped chives.
- Reserve a few chunks of roasted celeriac to garnish with.
- Sprinkle with a little paprika for contrast, or use chilli flakes if you like heat.
- Top your soup with toasted hazelnuts or chestnuts.
- Drizzle with your favourite flavoured oil. Try truffle, chilli or pumpkin seed.
- Top with a few crispy bacon lardons or some crumbled stilton.
Hints, Tips & Variations
- Roasted celeriac soup freezes well, so make extra. Just allow it to cool and then pack it into plastic pots. Then defrost and reheat in microwave or on the stove top.
Helen’s Fuss Free Tip – Immersion / Stick Blenders
You do not need an expensive immersion blender to make soup. A cheap single-speed blender will do the job. My first blender cost £5 and lasted about 10 years. I used it several times a week. You can find something that will do the job very well for about £12/US$15. Note that cheap blenders are not always dishwasher safe, and may not be suitable for just-off-the-boil liquids.
When buying a blender, look at the wattage. The higher it is, the more powerful the blender. You don’t really need need multi speed or lots of attachments. A powerful blender, however, will get the job done quicker.
To clean your blender, first rinse it under the tap. Fill a jug with warm water, add a few drops of washing up liquid and whizz the blender in it for a few seconds.
FAQS
Yes, it freezes very well in a sealed container. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove top.
Don’t worry! There’s really not a lot of oil in this soup, and it’s very nutritious.
Yes, so you could call this a roasted celery root soup.
If someone cannot tolerate the stems of the plant, then it is unlikely that they can eat the root safely. If you need a recipe without celery, then try one of my other soup recipes instead.
More Easy Soup Recipes
- Good soup often starts with a soffritto recipe. Make a big batch, freeze and use every time you make soup.
- Carrot and lentil soup
- Pumpkin and sweet potato soup
- Slow cooker vegetable soup
- Butternut squash soup
- Tomato and lentil soup
- More easy soup recipes
Summer Soup Recipes
Roasted Celeriac Soup
Ingredients
- 1 celeriac (roasted – from about 800g raw celeriac)
- 2 onions (medium size)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 apple
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 litre vegetable or chicken stock (4 cups)
- ½ lemon (juice only)
- 20 g parsley (1 large handful)
To serve
- fresh herbs (chopped)
- drizzle cream, or soured cream
Instructions
- First, dice and roast the celeriac.
- Peel the onion and garlic, and roughly chop.2 onions, 2 cloves garlic
- Put the olive oil into a medium sized saucepan, and fry the onion over a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring all the time. Then add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes until the onion is translucent, turning golden at the edges and is fragrant.2 tbsp olive oil
- Core the apple and cut into chunks (no need to peel).1 apple
- Add the roasted celeriac, apple, parsley and stock to the pan, give it a good stir and add some pepper and salt. Put the lid on and bring to a simmer. Then turn the heat right down and leave to simmer gently for 20 minutes.1 litre vegetable or chicken stock, 20 g parsley, 1 celeriac
- Once the vegetables are all very soft, whizz the soup with an immersion or stick blender. (If you prefer, you can use a blender or food processor.)
- Taste and adjust the seasoning or add a little more stock if the soup needs thinning.
- Stir in the lemon juice. If you like a creamier soup, you can also add a knob of butter.½ lemon
- Serve garnished with fresh herbs and a drizzle of cream.
Notes
- Cut up celeriac, toss in olive oil and pepper and salt. Put in the oven to roast for half an hour at 200°C / 400°F / GM6.
- Half way through roasting, add the roughly chopped onion.
- 5 minutes before the end of roasting, add the chopped garlic.
Leave a Reply