Creamy Celery Root and Granny Smith Apple Soup

It was a crap day. The kind of Monday that just makes you want to crawl into bed until a week passes and you can start over again. I needed something warm and satisfying to sooth my frazzled soul and soup is always the best remedy. But today, the vegan standards daal or chili just wouldn’t do. I wanted something rich and creamy and once again the Conscious Cook had me covered.

I love Tal Ronnen’s work because he’s brings traditional French techniques and flavours to vegan cooking. His goal is to convert carnivores anywhere and everywhere he can. Not with lectures or rhetoric but with damn good food. He understands that there is a time and a place for balanced healthy food but every once and a while you need a little indulgence. Today was this day so I reached for the soup I’ve had tabbed with a sticky note since I opened his cookbook on Christmas morning.

I’ve tweaked it a little here and there but this is pretty straight up in terms of execution. The result is so creamy, so delicious that I will be gobbling this up at lunch for the rest of the week and want for nothing else. Bring it on Tuesday, I’ve got you now.

Celery Root and Granny Smith Apple Soup

Adapted from Tal Ronnen’s, The Conscious Cook, yields 2 litres

Prep time: 20 minutes / Active Cooking Time: 40 minutes

For the Soup:

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
2 medium celery roots, peeled and diced into 1″ cubes (you’ll want to give these a really good rinse once diced to remove all residual soil left over from the roots)
2 stalks of celery, roughly diced
1 medium sized, yellow onion, roughly diced
1 large shallot or 2 small, roughly diced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 quarts faux chicken stock (I use Better than Bouillon brand stock paste)
1 bay leaf or 3 fresh
1 cup thick cashew cream
3 Granny Smith apples, 1 peeled and diced into 1″ cubes, the other 2 finely diced with the peels on.
1 bunch of chives, snipped into 1 mm rounds

Method:

1. In a large stock pot over medium heat, bring the olive oil and Earth Balance up to temperature. Add the celery root, stalks, onion, shallot and 1 peeled, cubed Granny Smith apple to pot and saute for 7-10 minutes, stirring often until soft but not brown.
2. Add the stock, bay leaf(s) and bring up to a boil. Once boiled, reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the cashew cream and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Sea salt and pepper to taste.

NOTE: I find the faux chicken stock to be salty enough on it’s own in the soup without adding more. Please be sure to taste the soup as you go and leave the salt until the very last.

3. Working in batches, pour the soup into a blender or full-size food processor and puree until desired smoothness is achieved. I like mine with a bit of texture so I only blend for around 2-3 minutes. For a truly silky soup, you’ll want to let it blend for somewhere near 5 minutes per section. Recombine and heat through once more before serving.

NOTE: If you find the soup is a little on the thick side, you can always add more water or stock to thin it out. Personally, I prefer to upgrade to cream.

4. Ladle out into bowls and garnish each with a tablespoon of the diced apple and a tbsp of chives. Enjoy!