A silky and comforting celeriac soup, with apples and thyme as normal service continues here at Natural Kitchen Adventures.
Apple, Celeriac and Thyme Soup
So you may think, as a health food chef and blogger January would be the best time of year to SHOUT REALLY LOUDLY about my healthy recipes, my app and cooking events that I offer as part of my company?
Well, no more than at any other time of year. To be honest I’ve felt a bit drowned by my social feeds being filled with healthy new year messages this last week, and have wondered what my response to this should be? My approach this time of year is just the same as it is the other 11 months of the year. Try my best to eat a balanced healthy diet, drink more water, stress less, sleep more, and seek out my absent exercise mojo (where did you go???). I don’t need an internet health guru to tell me this, nor do I profess to be one.
I really don’t believe in diets or detoxes, and I think the message is thankfully finally getting through that this isn’t the way (read this book if you need persuading). In fact I have turned down cheffing on detox retreats and teaching detox cooking classes in the past, as they don’t sit well with my ethos of aiming for small achievable and lasting changes rather than drastic measures.
It’s taken me a long time to learn to be happy with what body I’ve been given, I’m almost there. I punished myself in my 20s, cutting out fat, followed by carbs, and over exercising so much that I experienced amenorrhea (lost periods) when I dropped a little more weight than I should have. The curves came back over the last 4-5 years, without me really realising it. This was around the same time I trained as a chef and no longer had the energy to punish myself in the gym. It also tied in with the stress of my Mother passing away, along with the rise of the smart phone meaning I find it hard to switch off from work – which was responsible? Truth is that I was no happier as a size 8 than I am now, a healthy 34yr curvy size 12-14 girl with a balanced attitude to all foods, and I’ve recently realised that my continual clothes shopping frustrations are mostly born out of my 5ft 3 frame, not what it’s filled with.
I want people to acknowledge that eating well isn’t about achieving a perfect figure. I want people to improve their diets for their health first. For example, more veggies to make your skin glow, to keep you well, give you more energy, to feel better in your own mind, and to sleep better. I am pained when I hear friends of mine whom are much slimmer than me talking about dieting to slim down, the focus feels all wrong.
Likewise, we should learn to exercise for the same reasons. I know I am a work in improvement on this one!
So this January, it’s business as normal here, with maybe just a few less desserts than I offered in December. Starting with this soup.
Celeriac makes wonderfully creamy soup, and with a touch of apple to sweeten. It pairs well with hazelnuts which I’ve used in my topping. Serve a small portion as a starter (as I have done on yoga retreats this last year), or a more hearty portion with bread for dunking for a light lunch or supper.
The key to making homemade soup sing is homemade stock, and perfect seasoning. I realise that homemade stock may not be feasible for everyone so concentrating on getting the seasoning right is key. Once blended have a good taste, and see what you can do to improve the flavour. If it needs brightening add lemon juice, too bland add salt, needs depth a pinch of nutmeg can work wonders, too sour add a drizzle of olive oil.
The perfect way to ease gently into normal service this January.
- ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra
- for drizzling
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 celery rib, finely diced
- 1 celeriac, peeled, diced roughly
- 2 apples (I like Granny Smith), peeled, cored and diced
- a few sprigs of thyme, reserving some
- for decoration
- 750ml hot vegetable stock
- 250ml almond milk (or other dairy free milk)
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lemon, juiced
- toasted hazelnuts to finish
- Heat the oil in a large pan. Over a medium heat cook the onions and celery in a pinch of salt until softened, which should take about 5 minutes.
- Add the celeriac, apples and leaves from a few springs of thyme and cook for 2–3 minutes. Next add the stock and simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes until the celeriac is fork tender.
- Remove from the heat, allow to cool for a few minutes to avoid burning yourself with hot splashes of soup, then pour into a jug blender or blitz with a hand blender until silky smooth. Add the almond milk, season with salt and pepper and blend again. Taste and if needs brightening add a bit of lemon juice at a time of for more flavour add a tablespoon of olive oil.
- Return to the heat and keep warm until ready to serve.
- To serve, spoon the soup into bowls and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of toasted chopped hazelnuts and some thyme leaves.
This recipe originally appeared in the Winter 2016 issue of Superfoods Magazine.
Such a fantastic post, and so true – why go crazy at Christmas then punish yourself in Jan only to end up miserable? It so hard not to compare lives with those on social media, I deleted FB off my phone and haven’t missed it. Eat well year round, and let yourself have treats, you only live once! That soup looks so delicious, I adore celeriac – want to curl up with a bowl of it right now!
Thanks Isabella. The binge and purge cycle that so many follow is so crazy! It actually makes me sad that people put themselves through it. I tried deleting Fbook but put it back. So far this week I’ve managed to sleep with my phone in the other room, its a good start…. 🙂
And hurrah to another Celeriac fan!
Totally agreed Ceri – we should have a more natural and moderate approach to food which avoids those extreme peaks and troughs. Thanks for sharing your story and the happier place you are in now! Great recipe too by the way!
Thanks Darryl!
Ceri you have totally hit the nail on the head with this post! I agree, enjoy the desserts at Christmas without too much guilt and because it is the time of year to do so, then continue as normal for rest of the year. Since I changed to a healthier lifestyle I have learned to enjoy the little treats (because that is what they are and not a regular occurrence) guilt free without worry about what it will do to my hip size!
Great that you agree Donna, it takes a while to get there with this, and I wouldn’t have had my journey any other way. Hurrah for balance!
Very wise words Ms Jones! I am all about the 80 / 20 rule. This soup sounds something lovely for these very chilly days we are having right now!
Thanks Sus, its blinking cold here, I need soup on repeat! enjoy that 80!
I love celeriac but often forget to get some. I like to roast it – this soup is a new idea for me to try.
Its such a pain to peel, I can see why it often gets forgotten. Such a tasty vegetable though, love the unique taste. Hope you enjoy it as a soup soon!
Gosh this sounds so lovely! The perfect lower calorie soup for us on January resolutions 🙂
Thanks Elizabeth. I don’t really look at calories at all, but glad to know it can be helpful for those that do.
I couldn’t agree more Ceri! I hate diets. Just the word makes me shudder so it was with distress that I had to follow the SCD/GAPS/low FODMAP diets to try and sort out my IBS. I hated every minute of being on such strict and restricted diets. Did they help? I don’t really know and probably never will, but I am much better now. I agree with you that we should focus on feeding our bodies with nourishing food that will make a difference to our physical and mental health, not to get thinner. I love the look of this soup but I’m not hugely keen on celeriac. Will make this though to see if it changes my mind! Naomi Devlin got me onto raw celeriac in a remoulade and I love that!
Thank you Vicki. You did such an amazing job of sticking to the SCD protocol, And when you’re doing it for health reasons like you did it makes much more sense (even though it would still make me stressed and miserable!). Good to hear you are much better now though, whether thats due to the diet or otherwise!
Love remoulade, maybe I’ll make that next time celeriac appears in my veg box!