Soup: Broccoli and Celeriac recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Starters and Soups | 10 comments
Years ago I met a lady who had married a famous Hungarian film director. They ran away together and rented a flat somewhere in Europe. Neither of them could cook. She had heard about one pot cooking. Apparently this magical pot stood constantly on the stove. Every day you threw in various tasty things. Cooked them slowly through and the leftovers were the base of the next day’s meal. After a week they gave up. The pot had become rancid and vile. In fact, from that day on they never cooked again for the rest of their lives.
Sometimes I long for the magical pot that works.
I have started getting up a bit earlier in the morning and making soup. I am just too tired in the evening to tackle this task after supper. But early in the morning it is a joy.
We are now getting into the heart of our soup making season. We eat a lot of soup in the summer but it’s the winter soup that really appeals when the days are cold, crisp and short. Soup for lunch every day does wonders for my figure and it is far more sustaining than my doorstep sandwiches that are thrown together when I am on red alert and late for work.
This soup was designed to counter the cold grey day. By the time we were eating it at lunch time we were looking at sunshine and blue skies. This is a hefty soup. The blue cheese added small explosions of wow. Next time I’d leave out the crispy bacon garnish as the cheese completely stole the show. Serve in warm bowls with crusty bread if you have some. We made do with toast.
Broccoli and celeriac soup recipe with a Gorgonzola cheese and smoky bacon garnish
1 medium onion (sliced fine)
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
350 g of peeled and sliced celeriac
1 head of broccoli stalk sliced and florets cut and reserved for later
0.5 teaspoon of dried tarragon
1.5 pints of stock made with 0.5 chicken stock cube and 2 teaspoonfuls of Marigold stock powder
100g of chopped gorgonzola
2 slim grilled slices of chopped smoky bacon to garnish
1 dessertspoon of lemon juice
0.5 teaspoon of sweet smoked papricka
In a heavy bottomed saucepan, heat the olive oil and sweat the chopped onions for 15 minutes, lid on. Add the sliced celeriac and sliced broccoli stalk. Pour over the stock, add the tarragon and simmer until the celeriac softens. Add the broccoli florets, bring to the boil and simmer for about five minutes until the florets are just tender. Liquidise and season with a little fresh lemon juice and sweet smoked paprika. Garnish with the gorgonzola and smoky bacon. Serve with warm crusty rolls.
Leave a reply
Yum….Great story!
Fantastic sounding soup, love the idea of ‘explosions of melted cheese’, hot, chunky & melting on crusty chunks of bread….A swirl of cream to serve, not so good on the hips, delicious though!
I like to drop chunks of cheese in to tomato soup, scooping out the cheese onto the bread, not very elegant to eat, warming, tasty & enjoyable.
Must be the ‘child in me’,he, he, he, dunking the bread, come to think of it a bib would come in handy…..I’m not joking about the bib!
Odelle.
Hi Kathyann,
A strong, mature cheddar would work with the soup. If you chop the cheese, rather than grate it, and stir it into the soup just before serving you have these small explosions of taste.
Totally agree with you – homemade soup is great.
Hi Joanna,
Love the story – something so hideous immerged that even the stockpot had to be buried!
Hi Freya,
I think that this soup worked as the celeriac content was quite small so it didn’t overpower the broccoli taste.
Thanks for dropping by.
Hi Martyn,
Making soup post pub sounds like a great idea!
I love my Magimix. I have had it for 2 months now and I use it nearly every day. Celeriac is such a hard vegetable but it sliced it in seconds.
Hi Mildred,
Great idea keeping some vegetables whole – I will try that.
Hi Amanda,
Celeriac and swede mash is a good one! Sounds awful but it’s delicious.
Hi Katherine,
Great story!
I’d love to be able to have a soup pot constantly on the go.
Hi Sara,
Thanks for such a positive comment!
I enjoy writing the posts.
I love to read your posts – this is not just a recipe but they always have a story or memory to make the post extra interesting. Sara from farmingfriends
I’m salivating… we’ve got to try this! Soup-cravings come into their own on cold, windy, wet weeks like this one. Yours sounds like just the ticket for firing up chilly insides, Fiona.
Joanna’s story reminds me of my grandmother’s soup pot. She always had one on the go, bunging in liquidised leftovers and fresh stock whenever the opportunity arose. Sounds a bit foul, but in fact the soup was always hearty and delicious, if a little indecipherable. On one occasion she served it to guests who slurped it down with relish. The conversation went something like this:
“Oh Dorothy, this soup’s absolutely delicious! What’s in it?”
“Oh…er…I’m afraid I’m not quite sure…”
I’ve only recently started using celeriac after having it in a big stew at a friend’s house and being pleasantly surprised. I’ve been putting it in nearly everything since. I think because I hate celery so much, it’s a novelty for me. Celery flavour but without the REAL celery flavour if you understand my meaning.
We love soup and make a lot now I have a blender! I like to keep a few of the vegetables whole and then whizz the rest. I always freeze half for a quick supper.
I really don’t think there is anything better than a bowl of nourishing soup with some nice bread!
Yumyumyumyumyum – I’ve got a Magimix and I enjoy making soup post-pub on Sunday afternoon. I’ve never tried using celeriac – thank you.
What a stunning soup! Impressive enough sounding for a dinner party, yet homely and warming enough for just plain old supper. I have been looking for an interesting celeriac recipe recently so I’m definitely bookmarking this one! Thanks!
Mmm … your story reminded me of a lady I knew, the mother of an old friend, who was the landlady of a huge coaching inn. She had a stockpot that was kept going day after day, week after week. Her son-in-law told me at her funeral that he knew he had been accepted into the family when she asked him, one black night, to bury the stockpot in a deep hole at the bottom of the garden … something vile and slimey had happened.
You’re right, we all need a magic pot
Thanks for sharing!
Joanna
Your soup looks gorgeous although I’d have to use a different cheese ,not keen on blue cheeses.Ilove making soups and you are right about them slimming you down ,if eaten regularly.At least you know what has gone into it and no addatives or preservatives ,it has to be better for you.Kathyann (meg’s mum’s muffins )