Celeriac and Bacon Soup

Now that the cold weather has turned "this is bullshit" cold, a nice warming bowl of soup is on the menu tonight. The chosen soup being celeriac and bacon.

Many people have heard of celeriac but not too many have seen or tasted it.

Celeriac is a root vegetable with a bulbous hypocotyl, (the part of the stem of an embryo plant beneath the stalks of the seed leaves and directly above the root).Typically, celeriac is harvested when its hypocotyl is 10–14 cm in diameter. It is edible raw or cooked, and tastes similar to the stalks of common celery. Celeriac may be roasted, stewed, blanched, or mashed. Sliced celeriac occurs as an ingredient in soups, casseroles, and other savory dishes.








As with most soups, this is an easy and basic one to make. 
For this recipe, I used the following:

1 Leek-sliced thinly
2 Rashers of Bacon-diced
1 Celeriac "Bulb"-peeled and cubed
2 Potatoes-peeled and cubed
500-750ml Chicken Stock

Using a little olive oil and a tablespoon of butter, sweat down the leek in a medium size saucepan,over medium heat, for 4-5 mins than add the bacon and cook for a further 5 mins.

Add the celeriac and potato and enough stock to just cover. Bring to the boil and cook until tender.
When ready and in batches, transfer to a blender and process until you have a smooth and creamy texture. 





Ladle into bowls and serve topped with bacon crumble.

Bacon Crumble

2 rashers bacon, cut into an extremely fine dice (about 2mm)
1/4 cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs (I use Panko Bread Crumbs)

Sauté the bacon in a frying pan. When the bacon is starting to cook and release its fat, add the breadcrumbs. Stir continually, until the breadcrumbs are golden and the bacon pieces are crunchy. 

Taste and season with salt if required – this will depend on how salty the bacon is – then drain on a paper towel.