Celeriac always seems to be the poor relation of the root vegetables as people tend to look at its knobbly exterior and shy away from experimenting with it. This is a pity as it has a slightly sweet celery flavour and purées to a beautifully smooth texture.
Ingredients
For the soup
- 675g pears peeled and cored
- 300ml water
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 450g celeriac peeled and roughly chopped
- 900ml vegetable stock
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 225g Stilton cheese crumbled
To garnish
- 4 tbsp single cream
- 4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
Method
- Cut the pears into slices and poach them in the water until they are tender. Blend the pears and water together and reserve. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion until transluscent.
- Add the celeriac and cook, covered, for 10-15 minutes, or until tender. Add the vegetable stock and blended pears, bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Liquidise the soup in a blender and return to a clean pan. Re-heat gently, season to taste and stir in the crumbled Stilton cheese, stirring until it has melted.
- Serve immediately with a swirl of single cream and a sprig of flat-leaf parsley
