Winter Celery soup recipe: oven baked
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Starters and Soups, Vegetarian | 22 comments
Nothing beats the intense flavour of Winter Celery. We lament the fact that the season is so short. Just six weeks, from mid November to New Years Day. Winter Celery is grown in the dark soil of East Anglian Fens, just a few miles from our cottage, so we can always find it at its freshest and best.
When I spotted it in the shops on Saturday I was so pleased to find my old friend again. I returned home with a couple of heads and one purpose in mind: Winter Celery begs to be made into this superb winter soup. If you are feeling naughty reserve one of the hearts to eat raw with a hunk of stilton and some warm soda bread.
We make vast batches of this soup to freeze and enjoy later in the year. The slow cooking enhances the intense flavour and makes a truly memorable soup. It is cooked with no fat so, if you leave out the cream, it is low fat. There’s no dividing of ranks when you serve this to a mixed bunch of vegetarians and carnivores. Be warned, they might fight over the final ladle.
This soup is at its best if made and left for 48 hours (in the fridge). Somehow the flavours mellow even more.
| Winter Celery soup recipe: oven baked |
- 2 heads of Winter Celery. De-string the coarse outer leaves and chop into 5 cm pieces (approx 1 kilo)
- 600g of potatoes (peeled and chopped into 2 cm thick rings)
- 1 large Spanish onion, chopped roughly (approx 350g)
- 1.5 litres of vegetable stock (water and 6 teaspoons of Marigold Bouillon stock powder)
- A dash of dry white wine (optional)
- A couple of bay leaves
- A good dash of fresh ground pepper
- 350ml of single cream/creme fraiche to serve (optional)
- Pre-heat oven to 140 C (120 C fan-assisted).
- Prepare the vegetables as above and put into a large heavy bottomed, ovenproof saucepan.
- Add the stock, bay leaves and ground pepper.
- Bring slowly to a strong simmer.
- Cover the top with foil and put on the lid to create a tight seal.
- Place the saucepan on the bottom shelf of the oven for 2 hours.
- Remove the bay leaves and liquidise. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- Serve in warm bowls with a swirl of fresh cream and plenty of fresh bread.
Leave a reply
Have just moved to Suffolk and bought my first Fens celery. I’m glad I came across this recipe as it is absolutely delicious. Thanks!
Hi Mike
Thanks for all your tips. I have never successfully grown celery. You’ve inspired me to try again next year!
Hello liv
I love this soup. It’s even better made with Winter Celery. Probably vanishing from the shelves about now as the season is very short.
Hi Dorothy
No I don’t think that the flavour would be ruined just add good stock incrementally and taste.
Hi Frank
I do hope that your Christmas soup turned out well.
Hello Mistysooty
My mum’s a bit like that too. Hope that she enjoys it and that there’s some left for you.
I made this soup today, but reduced the quantity used as I’m the only celery fan in my family. But as the soup was in the oven, Mum said that she might try some of it tomorrow.
Thanks a lot and keep up the good work.
Hi
Thanks for the soup recipe, going to make this for tommorrows starter.
Happy xmas to all
Frank
Hooray for people who share recipes and for google for helping us find them! Made a batch this afternoon and it’s currently ‘maturing’ but the sneaky taste when I liquidised it was lovely. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
have just made this soup …delicous but was very thick..do you think the flavour would be spoilt more stock was added
Hi, another soup googler here!!
Just about to undertake what looks to be a lovely recipe!! Will then be scouring the site for more!!
Brilliant, thankyou!!
Liv
celery can also be frozen in air tight bags, and used as and when required for healthy stews and broths, and of course soups, here on our farm we have grown lots for the first time, so we are freezing some ready for the winter, also tried butternut squash what a versatile plant that is tasty and can be used in so many different ways. next a gallon of celery wine is to be made supposed to be very good, a light white wine, celery is great for many things but do grow your own better taste than the bought stuff and not much room needed and a lot cheaper.
Hi Sir Les!
I do hope that you enjoyed the soup.
Thanks for dropping by.
Hi.
yes, i googled cream of celery soup and didn’t fancy the BBC fod recipe, this one really took my fancy!
what a great site! have book marked it and the soup is now in the oven!
thank you very much. will visit often.
regards,
Sir Les! xx