For those of you who have never heard of celery root or celeriac before, chances are you probably walked right past this vegetable in the grocery store or market as it is definitely not the prettiest or most inviting vegetable on the shelf!
Maybe it's this rough exterior that makes this seasonal root vegetable so seriously underrated. We're going to be showing celery root a little love this week in this delicious celery root and apple soup recipe that will hopefully make you fall in love with this unique root vegetable.
If you've never cooked with celery root before — this is your time. This light, fragrant celery root soup is a beautiful way to introduce yourself to this ingredient and the sourdough thyme croutons add a nice crunch of texture to this seasonal soup.
What is Celery Root
Celery root, also known as celeriac, is a tasty root vegetable with a strong celery flavour. It is similar in size and shape of a turnip and is easily recognized by its brown, rough, and —let's just call it like it is — pretty ugly exterior. But, it truly is what's on the inside that counts!
This root vegetable has a beautiful creamy white flesh and crisp texture once the rough skin has been removed.
How to Prepare Celery Root
To prepare celery root for cooking, you want to peel away the rough outer skin, as you would peel a turnip or an apple. Wash your celery root and then using a vegetable peeler, peel away all the rough skin and cut into cubes to steam, boil or bake or julienne if you want to enjoy raw and add to salads.
Similar to apples, celery root does oxidize and turn brown when exposed to air so if you are preparing celery root, you may want to squeeze a little bit of lemon juice on it to prevent oxidization!
How to Cook With Celery Root
This vegetable is extremely versatile and can be enjoyed both raw or cooked. Try it cubed and sautéed in a hash with other root vegetables and bacon, roasted, in soups or stews, thinly shaved with a mandolin or julienned in a salad, or cut thick and roasted like a steak.
Meet Our Farmers & Producers
Hillside Gardens
The yellow onions in this recipe are sourced from Hillside Gardens, a fourth generation family farm and processing facility in Bradford, ON.
They were early adopters of the Local Food Plus program and place a high value on sustainability and innovation.
August's Harvest
Our local garlic from August's Harvest adds a beautiful flavour to this seasonal root vegetable soup!
August’s Harvest is now one of the largest commercial garlic growers in Ontario.
Hewitt's Dairy
The sour cream in this celery root and apple soup adds a silky, creamy texture to the soup.
Founded in 1887, Hewitt’s Dairy is known for it’s high quality fluid milk and milk products, especially it’s line of goat dairy products.
Cookstown Greens
Cookstown Greens is a family-run farm located 1 hour north of Toronto in Essa township that grows over 120 varieties of the best certified organic vegetables, greens, seedlings, garnishes and edible flowers!
Their gorgeous Hearty Mix microgreens add the perfect pop of colour and flavour to garnish this celery root and apple soup!
Spent Goods
One night at his local pub, founder Dihan asked the question we’ve all been too shy to ask: What happens to all the grain used to make beer?
After learning that most spent grain, especially from smaller breweries, ends up in landfills, The Spent Goods Company was born.
Spent Goods' delicious beer sourdough was used to make the sourdough and thyme croutons in this recipe!
Norfolk Fruit Growers
Norfolk Fruit Growers is a cooperatively owned and managed venture located in Simcoe County and the gorgeous Honeycrisp apples used in this celery root and apple sour recipe are sourced from Norfolk.
There are 10 active members in this cooperative and their combined orchard acreage is 1100 – and represent almost 12% of apples grown commercially in Ontario!
Their innovation has allowed NFGA to develop technologies for meticulous grading, washing and packaging – all elements to guarantee top notch quality of local apples year round.
Green Acres Farm
The celery root that is the star of this soup recipe is from Green Acres Farm located in the Holland March and owned by the Gaetano Brothers.
Ingredients
This soup recipe makes about 6-8 cups of soup. Feel free to half the recipe to make a smaller batch!
For the Soup
- 2 x Green Acres Farms celery roots
- 2 x Norfolk Honeycrisp (or Gala) apples
- 2 x Hillside Gardens yellow onions
- 2 x August's Harvest garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp olive oil (try our Olive Farm Canadian olive oil)
- 1 cup coconut milk (or regular milk Harmony whole milk)
- 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 3 x bay leaves (fresh or dried work)
- 3 x sprigs of fresh thyme
- Salt & pepper to taste
For the Spent Grains Sourdough Thyme Croutons
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/3 Spent Goods sourdough loaf, cut or ripped into bite sized pieces
- 4 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed and chopped
To Garnish
- Spent grains sourdough thyme croutons
- Honeycrisp apple slices (very thinly sliced)
- Cookstown Hearty Mix microgreens
- Hewitt's sour cream
You can also add a splash of apple cider vinegar or lemon to your bowl to taste if you feel like the soup could use some acidity!
Method
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Using a vegetable peeler, peel your celery root, peeling off the funny tubers on the ends! Cut into 1 inch cubes and set aside.
Peel and core your apples and cut them into cubes similar in size to your celery root and add them to your bowl.
Peel your onions and garlic. Dice your onions and mince the garlic and add to the bowl with the celery root and apples.
In a Dutch oven or large sauce pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat and add your diced celery root, apples, onion and garlic. Sautee on medium-high heat until your onions are translucent and celery root has softened.
Add your vegetable stock, coconut milk, nutmeg, ginger, thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Stir to combine and bring your soup to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer until the celery root is nice and soft (about 15 minutes).
While your soup is cooking, cut or rip a third of your loaf of Spent Goods Sourdough bread into bite sized pieces and place them in a bowl. Remove your thyme leaves from the stems and cut them up finely. Add them to the bowl with the bread. Pour 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the bread and using your hands, mix together until combined.
Pour your croutons onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and place in the oven for 5-10 minutes until toasted, checking regularly.
Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly. Using a hand blender, blend until smooth. If you don't have a hand blender, carefully transfer to a large blender or food processor and blend until smooth. You might have to do this is batches, do not overfill your machine!
Did You Try This Recipe?
If so, we'd love to see your finished product of your Celery Root and Apple Soup! Share a photo and tag us on Instagram at @themarketat100kmfoods.
