Celeriac also goes by the name celery root and while it is closely related to the crunchy, light green celery stalks commonly cultivated it is grown particularly for the root rather than the stalks. When raw it smells just like fresh celery but the flavor is more subtle and I find it tastes like a cross between celery, parsley and apples, making it the perfect accompaniment for soups made with other more richly flavored root vegetables like carrots and yams. Celery is the one vegetable I avoid at all costs, I just don’t like it, but I recently discovered celeriac when it made its way into the potato soup I had at a restaurant and despite my preconceived distaste, I really enjoyed it. Celeriac is rather unattractive on the outside but on the inside it is a source of many nutrients, most notably vitamin K and the mineral phosphorus, both of which are essential for strong, healthy bones.
Roasting vegetables before adding them to soup takes extra time but for really simple ones like this the extra step goes a long way. Most commercial soups depend on cream, cheese, butter, beef stock, or a myriad of spices for flavor, whereas using roasted vegetables keeps the ingredient level short and the end product much lighter and healthier. Once the vegetables are all chopped this is pretty low maintenance, it just requires a few steps. It is the kind of thing I like to make when I have some free time at home and I just read or work on something else while it is cooking. It will sit in the fridge for a couple days so it can be made a bit in advance and reheated on the stove as a first course for dinner guests. Be sure to use a good quality broth, the cheaper ones usually skimp on the ingredients they and use additives like MSG, even though one of its dozens of other names may be listed on the label making it harder to recognize, plus they can have a strange aftertaste. I used a bit of cumin for its smokiness and oregano for its earthiness to accent the sweetness of the carrots and yam, which become even sweeter after roasting, but if they are not in your spice arsenal then the same amounts of sage, thyme, marjoram, savory or coriander would also be complimentary.
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 celeriac, peeled and diced finely (around 3 ½ - 4 cups)
- 1 yam, diced finely (around 2 cups)
- 3 carrots, diced finely (around 2 cups)
- ¼ cup cold-pressed olive or avocado oil, divided
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 leek, chopped finely
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried ground oregano
- Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- Preheat oven to 400°. Toss the celeriac, yam, carrots and half of the oil on a parchment paper lined baking sheet with a light sprinkle of sea salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. When there are around 7 minutes left place a large pot on the stove with the rest of the oil over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, sautée the leek, garlic, cumin and oregano until the leek softens, around 5 minutes. Add in the roasted vegetables, the bay leaf and the broth and bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium low and leave to simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and blend with a handheld or upright blender.
