This silky smooth celeriac soup is enhanced by making it with a white wine vegetable stock. It is delicious topped with a crunchy herb gremolata and served with warm three-seed spelt soda bread.

Celeriac Velouté

Dietary: Vegan | Serves 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 600g celeriac, peeled and diced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 banana shallot, finely diced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tbsp plain white flour
• 750ml white wine stock (recipe below)
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Gently fry the diced shallot in the olive oil until they are soft, but not coloured.
2. Add the crushed garlic clove to the shallot. Fry for a minute.
3. Add the flour, stir and slowly add the white wine stock to achieve a smooth sauce.
4. Add the diced celeriac.
5. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 15/20 minutes until the celeriac is soft.
6. Blend until very smooth with a stick blender.
7. Season to taste. Top with gremolata.

Gremolata

Dietary: Vegan | Serves 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 3 minutes

Ingredients

• 30g white bread
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
• 1 tsp chopped rosemary and thyme
• 1 tsp chopped parsley
• Pinch mild chilli flakes
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. In a mini food processor blitz the bread to make breadcrumbs.
2. Chop the garlic and herbs finely.
3. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the garlic, herbs and breadcrumbs together until they are golden and crispy, add the chilli flakes and salt.
4. Sprinkle on top of the celeriac velouté.

White Wine Stock

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 stick celery, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, sliced
• 1 star anise
• ½ lemon peel
• 2 bay leaves
• Sprig of thyme
• 10 black peppercorns
• 20 coriander seeds
• 2 cloves
• 10g parsley stalks
• 100ml white wine
• 1 litre cold water

Method

1. Put all the ingredients into a large saucepan and gently bring to the boil.
2. Simmer for 25 minutes and then remove from the heat and leave for a minimum of 1 hour to infuse before using.
3. Strain the stock through a sieve into a bowl. Discard the vegetables.

Three Seed Spelt Soda Bread

Soda bread dries out quickly so best eaten warm straight from the oven. If you don’t want to eat it that day it’s best to split the loaves and freeze them.

Dietary: Yeast-free, Vegan

Makes 2 small loaves

Ingredients

• 500g wholemeal spelt flour
• 50g jumbo oats
• 6 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp each of sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds
• 350mls soya or almond milk
• 75mls plain soya yoghurt
• 1 tbsp molasses

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 210C.
2. In a measuring jug, mix the milk, yoghurt and molasses together.
3. Mix the flour, jumbo oats, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl together with the seeds.
4. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and mix into sticky dough.
5. Tip onto a floured surface and divide into two equal sized portions.
6. Shape each portion into a ball, flatten and cut a deep cross, not quite all the way through in the top of each ball and dust with flour.
7. Place them on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.
8. Bake in the middle of the pre-heated oven for 30/40 minutes until well baked.

Tips:

I get a better result using baking powder rather than bicarbonate of soda. Baking power is 1 part bicarbonate of soda (alkaline) and 2 parts cream of tartar (acidic).

You can make soda bread with white flour, gluten free flour, rye flour; add nuts, dried fruit, herbs or whatever you fancy.

Delicious food photography by Rob Wicks of Eat Pictures.

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