Healthy and comforting Celeriac soup is so easy to make and surprisingly delicious. A great first course for a fancy dinner party or a light cozy main for guests watching their waistline.
Happy New Year! It’s that time again. The time of year where everyone is over the indulgent season of Christmas, looking for healthy options and setting new intentions for the year. I never make new years resolutions, but I always spend a little time envisioning what I want for the coming year. Being healthy and eating well is always on the list. This delicious celeriac soup is one that will help realize those goals.
The crazy non-stop entertaining season is over, but for those of us who love to entertain and cook for our friends and family, its never really over, it just slows down a little. Which is nice, lets be honest! But when you do have guests over, with the cold weather, its nice to have a quick and easy soup to serve as a first course to your meal, or even as a light main itself.
I don’t think celeriac soup is one that many people make for themselves or their families. Its sometimes on the menu at higher end restaurants, but celeriac is an ingredient that is a little out of the ordinary for most people. I think its because people don’t realize how damn tasty it is! When you serve it to guests at your home, they might be a little apprehensive at first when you tell them its celeriac soup, but after the first bite, you will be a culinary star in their eyes. And you don’t even have to tell them how easy it was!
Celeriac soup works for so many different entertaining occasions. Its the perfect first course for a formal dinner party or a cozy and comforting main course for guests who prefer a lighter meal. Or for vegetarians, if you leave out the pancetta.
Can we talk about the truffle oil for a second please? There really is nothing like truffle oil to give a dish a little class. It just sounds decadent and elegant. You only need a tiny little bit. Just a few drops on each bowl of soup. It looks cool and it tastes even better. If you haven’t had truffle oil before, you really must. Its one of those ingredients that has the power to elevate something as simple as soup, or even french fries, to another culinary level. A great tool for anyone who is entertaining guests with a refined or adventurous palate.
When you buy truffle oil, look for one with only oil and truffles in the ingredient list like this one.
Now, I know that gruyere and cream are not exactly what you would call healthy, however, these two ingredients are totally optional. This celeriac soup still tastes AMAZING without these two ingredients. It really does… Of course cheese and cream also taste amazing lol, but if I or my guests were concerned with the amount of calories we were eating, or being dairy free, I would leave the cheese and cream out and just serve this with sprinkle of pancetta or bacon (because you can’t totally deprive yourself, right?) and a handful of chopped chives.
This celeriac soup would be even better served with crunch homemade croutons! Those will be going in our soup next time for sure! Making your own croutons is so easy. Check out this post for how to make croutons that will make this soup even more amazing!
First, roast your veggies. Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the onion, leeks, garlic, celery, and celeriac on a large baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and lay your thyme sprigs on top all around. Roast in the oven till your veggies are very tender, browned on the edges, and smell amazing. About 30 mins or so.
While your veggies are roasting, fry up the pancetta in a skillet on medium high heat till they are nice and browned and crispy. Remove from the pan into some paper towel to drain the fat.
Remove the veggies from the oven and place in a blender with a cup or two of the chicken stock. Blend well until everything is smooth and creamy. You might need to add a bit more stock or do this in two batches depending on how big your blender is. You can also do this with an immersion blender in a big pot too.
Add everything to a large pot and turn the heat to medium. Add the rest of the stock and bring it to a simmer to heat it through. Turn the heat down to low and add the cheese and heavy cream. Stir until all the cheese is melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve with pancetta, chives, and parmesan sprinkled on top. Drizzle a small amount of truffle oil to finish. About half a tsp per bowl or how every much you like!
I think this soup is not only delicious but also healthy. Is not it Debbie and Julie? Thanks for sharing such an awesome recipe with us! Good luck.
I agree Luis, both healthy AND delicious!