Roasted Carrot and Celeriac Soup

Sometimes referred to as celery root, celeriac is not actually the root of a celery plant, it is a diffferent vegetable altogether. I am not a big fan of celery myself, but I find the mild celery flavour of celeriac is very good in mixed vegetable side dishes or as here, to add some extra body and freshness to a pureed carrot soup. Most of my pureed soups start with roasted vegetables becasue the roasting brings out the natural sugars in them, resulting in a much more flavorful soup. Served with a little garlic toast, this is a great healthy lunch or first course at dinner. This soup also freezes well, so we tend to freeze it in single serving small airtight plastic containers for individual lunches any time.

1 large cleriac, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

3 lbs carrots cut in 1 inch lengths

6 large cloves garlic, unpeeled

3 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to season

Toss all of the above together and roast in a single layer on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven until the vegetables are fork tender, about 45 minutes. You may need to take the garlic cloves out before this time if they have completely softened.

Transfer the roasted vegetables to a large pot and add

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground thyme

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 to 1 1/2 litres of vegetable stock (low or no sodium is best)

Simmer over medium low heat for about a half hour before purreeing the soup in a standard blender or using and immersion blender. Taste the soup and do a final seasoning with salt and pepper before finishing the soup by adding:

juice of half a lemon

2 tablespooons clover honey

Stir well and serve.

NOTE: The amount of vegetable stock you add to this recipe varies, depending on the size of the vegetables and how thick you prefer your finished soup to be. You can always add more at the end it it is too thick when purreed.

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