Celeriac, Leek and White Bean Soup
Once again, it's the jar of beans that makes the difference here. The flavour from the liquid from the beans really adds to the dish and you can't replace those with the tinned kind. Try Bold Beans Co or any international food supermarket.
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 white onion, diced
1 large leek, chopped into half moons
1 celery stick, 1cm cubes
20g butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 springs rosemary or fresh oregano
1 bay leaf
400g celeriac, 2-3cm cubes
Sea salt and pepper
1 jar butter beans (with liquid)
1 vegetable stock pot + 500ml boiling water
For the toppings
Small handful of chives, finely chopped
Crème fraîche
Method
In a large saucepan, on a low-medium heat, add the olive oil and onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 5-10 minutes until soft and translucent but not brown. Add in the leek and celery and cook for a further 10 minutes with the lid on until they begin to soften.
Add the butter, garlic, rosemary and bay leaf and cook for a further few minutes. By this time the vegetables should be softened.
Add the celeriac, stir well and season with salt and pepper. Cover with the lid again and sweat for 10 more minutes. Meanwhile boil a kettle of water for the stock.
Add the jar of beans with the liquid they come in. Add the stock pot with 500ml of boiling water. Turn up the heat to a simmer, leave to cook for 45 minutes with the lid off on a medium heat.
When the celeriac is soft, remove from heat and take out the rosemary stalk and bay leaf.
If you're using a stick blender, do this in the same pan and blend as smooth as you can get it.
If using a blender (recommended), use a sieve to drain the liquid from the soup and reserving the liquid. Add the solid mixture to the blender and mix until smooth. Once there are no lumps, start adding the reserved liquid back in. Transfer back to a pan to heat through.
If it's too thick you can add more water at this point. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly.
Heat through and serve into bowls. Ripple through a spoonful of crème fraîche and scatter over the some finely chopped chives if you like.
Enjoy!
