Celeriac is the knobbliest, least glamorous vegetable at the market, and it makes the silkiest winter soup you'll eat all season. Roasting it with carrots first coaxes out a sweetness that boiling never finds — then chickpeas give it staying power and toasted hazelnuts finish it with crunch.
Serves 4
Nutrition (per serving, estimated)
- Energy: 325 kcal
- Protein: 11 g
- Fat: 14 g
- Carbohydrate: 29 g
- Fibre: 11 g
Estimated values.
Ingredients
- 1 medium celeriac (about 600 g peeled), cut into 2 cm cubes
- 4 medium carrots (about 240 g), cut into chunks
- 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 x 400 g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 240 g drained)
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- 30 g hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
- Juice of ½ lemon
- ½ tsp salt, plus pepper to taste
- A small handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Toss the celeriac, carrot, onion and unpeeled garlic cloves with the olive oil, cumin, coriander and salt on a large tray.
- Roast for 35–40 minutes, turning once, until the edges are golden and the celeriac is tender.
- Squeeze the roasted garlic out of its skins and tip everything into a large pot with the chickpeas and stock. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes.
- Blend until smooth — a stick blender in the pot is easiest. Loosen with a splash more stock if you like it thinner.
- Stir through the lemon juice, taste and season. Ladle into bowls and finish with the toasted hazelnuts and parsley.
Gluten-free, dairy-free and refined-sugar-free. Vegan if you use vegetable stock.