Serves: 4-6 - Time:
I keep thinking that we should be swapping stews for salads but the weather is not behaving. The vicious east wind means that a rich warming soup is still welcome on the weekly menu. This is an upmarket version of my usual fridge soup-so named because the ingredients comprise whatever is in the fridge. This time I happened to have a celeriac, some leeks and a piece of delicious Lincolnshire Poacher cheese. I made the soup with chicken stock because I happened to have some in the fridge but you can use vegetable stock (cube is fine) especially if you want to keep the soup vegetarian. If you can’t get hold of Lincolnshire Poacher cheese use a good artisan cheddar, Comté or aged Tomme cheese.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 20g butter
- 700g celeriac, peeled and roughly chopped
- 500g leeks, about 2 large ones
- 1 stick celery
- 1.2 litres chicken or vegetable stock
- 200g Lincolnshire Poacher cheese, grated
- 200ml double cream
- Celery salt
- Ground white pepper
Method
- Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan and sauté the celeriac, leeks and celery over a low heat for 20 minutes, until the vegetables have softened but not coloured.
- Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes. Leave to cool before liquidizing. Pour the soup back into the saucepan and warm through over a low heat.
- Stir in most of the cheese (keeping some aside to sprinkle over later) and all the cream and stir until the cheese has melted. Taste and season with a little celery salt and white pepper.
