CELERIAC SOUP WITH CRUMBLED STILTON & TRUFFLE OIL DRIZZLE

Having got two celeriacs in the veg box before Christmas and having to store them in the larder rather than the fridge due to stuffed-fridge syndrome, they were looking a bit tired and were one step away from the compost bin.


This is the stage I like to call 'Soup Stage'. Soup is like the elixir of youth for vegetables; rejuvenating them into something once again beautiful and appetising as well as completely fulfilling.

Having had a little look around for a celeriac soup recipe and not coming up with much success, I played around with this recipe today, which even though I say so myself, is one of the loveliest, indulgent and decadent soups I have ever made; so, I thought I would share it with you.

Of course, you don't have to use a tired old celeriac or use up skanky pieces of left over Christmas stilton to make yours, although there is something incredibly wonderful about taking some mouldy old cheese and a wrinkly old vegetable and turning it into the equivalent of French silk lingerie.

For this you will need:

One whole celeriac (Peeled and chopped into chunks)
Two medium onions (peeled and quartered)
Two fat cloves of garlic
three cloves
1 Bay leaf
Couple of sprigs of Thyme, stripped.
A splash of dry sherry (optional)
A pint and a half of chicken stock

Crumbled stilton for topping
Truffle oil to drizzle.

Chef's album Choice:

Trust me, this isn't a one album kind of dish. What's needed is a little bit of elegant, laid back, lazy afternoon modern blues / jazz will set the tone for this lovely lunch dish. Make it as Romantic as you can. Follow up with a little Madeline Peyroux.




Setting & Props:

This soup is a bit of a dinner party in a bowl. It would be too rich to serve as a first course and it is a little more sophisticated than a gardener's break, eaten whilst wearing wellies and a muddy jumper. As such I would make an occasion of this soup. Dress a table with a nice white linen table cloth, an ice-bucket containing a very chilled bottle of white. Set the music to lounge setting and chat away a romantic afternoon, tearing bread, and passing away the afternoon with chit-chat. It's fulfilling and rich enough to feel like a substantial meal whilst not being too heavy if you wish to engage in any afternoon physical exertion.


Total Cost: Under £3.00 for a large saucepan full (serve 4 amply for lunch)

ADDITIONAL NOTE: TRUFFLE OIL. 
Truffle oil would be my desert island culinary must have. It always seems very expensive (around £6.00 for a tiny bottle) but I use it at least a couple of times a week and a bottle lasts me 3+ months. Truffle oil is potent stuff. A couple of drops (treat it like an essential oil) will elevate any soup to a different level.
Try stirring it into buttery mash potato and you will truly think that you have placed one of heaven's clouds in your mouth, or spot it over garlicky, butter-fried mushrooms on toast. It's an investment that you will wonder how you ever lived without and helps add luxury to frugality.
I can't stress enough how little you should use, as too much on a first attempt may put you off for life.
WAITROSE sell a basic chef's truffle oil for just £4.39 but it can cost as much as £50.00 a bottle.

METHOD: 

1. Heat a splash of olive oil in a heavy based saucepan. Place on a low-mid heat.
2. Add the quartered onions, the cloves of garlic and the thyme and stir around until softened and about to turn a very light brown 
3. Add the bay leaf and the three cloves and the splash of sherry. Cook off the alcohol for a minute or two, until it is bubbled down and a nice golden liquor colour. 
4. Pour in the chicken stock. 
5. Place in the chunks of celeriac and cook down on a low heat until the celeriac is soft to the knife-pint. (It will have discoloured slightly, don't worry about this.)
6. Whilst this is cooking, prepare your stilton (older the better as it goes crumbly) by crumble-cutting your stilton. 
7. REMOVE YOUR CLOVES!!! (DO NOT FORGET)
8. Using a hand blender, blitz the soup until as smooth as it will go. (Some chef's insist on sieving soups at this stage, but quite frankly, I believe that life is far too short for those kind of shenanigans)
9. Spoon into deep soup bowls. Pile high with a handful of crumbled stilton and drizzle over the truffle oil. (Be careful, it's very potent stuff - treat it almost like a perfume)

Eat with warm homemade bread (if you've had the time and foresight) or part-baked rolls straight from the oven. 

SERVE WITH a very crisp glass of dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio - this will cut through the unctuousness of the soup.