celeriac and apple soup

Once upon a time, an ugly, gnarly root met a beautiful shiny green apple and it was love at first sight.

The classic French Potato and Leek Soup is wonderful on its own, but it also makes an excellent springboard for any number of creative soups. Today, it’s going to be the base for a delicious Creamy Celery Root, Leek, and Apple Soup. By using optional add-ons, you can add layer upon layer of flavors to excite the palate without complicating the method.

The original recipe uses chicken stock and cream. It’s not kosher and it’s not vegetarian or vegan, but it can easily be modified to fall within the guidelines of all those personal choice dietary preferences. Keep the cream and use a plant-based stock for a vegetarian version, lose the cream and keep the chicken stock for a meat version, or lose the cream and use a plant-based stock for a vegan version. If you love thick, creamy soups, this one will become part of your regular collection.
A garnish of thinly sliced crispy shiitake mushrooms can add depth of flavor and a woodsy finish. You can enhance that with a drizzle of truffle oil over each bowl. A splash of cream at the end makes it silky, but the soup is still wonderful without it. But, what really makes this soup pop is a popular Ecuadorian soup garnish—popcorn!

Ingredients:

• a generous glug—about two tablespoons of butter, or walnut oil, or pistachio oil, or part oil, part butter

• 2 large leeks, sliced into rounds (white part and tender green only) Be sure to carefully clean them between their layers, as they can be quite sandy.

• 3 large garlic cloves

• 1 medium celeriac, peeled and diced

• 1 large sweet apple, peeled and diced, core discarded

• 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced

• 6 cups stock—chicken stock, vegetable stock (clear or slightly yellow in color, not dark or red), or chicken-style stock or boullion.

• a small grating of nutmeg

• a few sprigs of thyme

• 2 bay leaves

• salt and freshly ground black pepper

• a handful of popcorn for garnish

• a drizzle of truffle oil (optional, highly recommended)

• a dash of heavy cream (optional)

• some sliced shiitake mushrooms, browned in a skillet with butter or oil (optional)

Method:

• Warm a small glug of the walnut oil in a medium pot (add some butter if you’d like) and sauté the leeks and garlic until the leeks are softened, 3—5 minutes.

• Add the celeriac, the apple, and the potato, and sauté for a couple of minutes, then add the water or stock with the thyme and bay leaves. Simmer until the vegetables are very tender.

• Remove the thyme sprigs and the bay leaves. Purée the soup with an emersion blender, or transfer it to a food processor. Add the nutmeg and several grinds of pepper, and adjust the salt to your liking.

• Add a splash of cream if you’d like, and reheat the soup. Then divide it among four soup bowls.

• Garnish each bowl with a small handful of popcorn, plus any or all of the above mentioned options.

Did you make it? Was it fabulous?