January recipe: Celery and walnut soup with blue cheese croutons
Celery and walnut soup
After the excesses of the festive season, the simplicity of a bowl of soup is often what I crave on a dark January evening. This recipe is just the right side of virtuous: simple, comforting but with the merest flourish of a decadent twist in the shape of the cheesy croutons.
Serves eight for a light starter, or fewer for more of a meal
3 medium onions
1 head celery
1 medium floury baking potato
1 medium-sized celeriac
2 bay leaves
100g walnuts (preferably fresh from their shells – they tend to be paler-skinned and less bitter)
1tsp vegetable stock and a twist of celery salt – more/less according to taste
A generous glug of olive oil
Salt to taste
1 bunch parsley
150g good quality blue cheese, such as stilton and in this instance, the less ‘squidgy’ the better
100g bread crumbs (I use a mix of white and rye sourdough).
1 large egg
Sunflower / groundnut / grapeseed oil for deep-frying – to a depth of 1.5 inches in the pan.
Peel and finely chop the onions.
In a heavy-based pan, pour in olive oil and set to a low heat with the onions. Place a lid on top.
Finely chop the celery, discarding only the tough end but including the leaves.
When the onions have just begun to soften and become glossy and translucent, add the celery and replace the lid.
Meanwhile, peel and de-gnarl the celeriac, then chop into cubes.
Peel the potato and chop into cubes.
Once the onions and celery are well-softened, add the potato and celeriac to the pan, together with the bay leaves and enough water to cover (see point 13 below on water quantity).
Turn up the heat and bring to the boil and then turn back down to simmer for 20 minutess or so – or until the potato and celeriac are soft.
Meanwhile, shell 100g worth of walnuts (weight without shells). Place in the bottom of a liquidiser /blender in wait.
Turn off the soup. Season with a shake or two of celery salt and a generous teaspoon of veg stock stirred into a paste with a small ladle-full of soup liquid. Return to the pan and mix well. Leave to stand awhile.
Blend the soup in batches in a liquidiser/blender – until you get a smooth, even paste.
Mix all the batches together in the pan and taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. Set aside whilst you make the croutons.
Please note, it is difficult to advise how much water to put into this soup as much will depend on personal preference, how big your veggies are etc. To my mind the end result of this soup should be a thick, but smooth and creamy consistency.
Whilst the soup is resting and the ingredients are all getting properly acquainted, turn your attention to the croutons.
Chop up the blue cheese into cubes – the less crumbly the better – if this is possible!
Roll the cheese cubes in the breadcrumbs. They won’t stick properly but this will get the process going.
Whisk the egg in a jug and then pour it into the bread crumb and cheese mix. Get stuck in with your hands, mixing and coating each of the little cubes until they resemble slightly bedraggled and startled hedgehogs.
Prepare a tray with some kitchen roll, ready to put the cooked croutons onto.
Meanwhile, in a small, heavy based pan filled with oil to roughly 1.5 inches, heat up the oil on a slow, gentle heat – be careful not to burn the oil. Test the oil by putting a tiny amount of the breadcrumb mix in, if it fizzes immediately and rises to the top: the oil is ready.
Pop the little croutons in and fry for just a minute or less – until they are crisp and golden.
Meanwhile, gently re-heat the soup if it has been left awhile.
Serve the hot soup in shallow bowls, with a finely chopped parsley garnish and a scattering of croutons in each bowl. Take the remainder to the table for people to add more – and they will.
Bon appétit and Happy New Year!
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Related:
December recipe: mushroom and chestnut roast with cashew cream