Celeriac, Bacon and Cumin Soup

At this time of year I love a good soup. They are great as a lovely warming lunch or even as a light dinner. The best thing about soups is the added goodness that you get from all of the ingredients. With soups you can easily disguise vegetables that the children may not like but be happy that they are unknowingly eating and and most of all enjoying it. For us grown ups soup is a fabulous healthy option that can be bulked out with filling, good for you foods that will really keep you going for longer!

Today's soup uses celeriac. This is a vegetable that often gets over looked. It really is not the prettiest of vegetables but who says that is important? I would rather have a tasty, ugly vegetable than a pretty but horrible vegetable. Taste, at the end of the day, is what matters. Recently we have been having celeriac more and more. It is a cheaper vegetable and is so versatile. The other week I used it to make vegetable spaghetti and everybody loved it. The children did not even question what it was! It looked like spaghetti, it tasted good hence there were no questions. Celeriac also goes great in soup, it adds a really creaminess to the soup and one that I am sure you will love!

This is what I did...

Celeriac, Bacon and Cumin Soup

Ingredients

1 celeriac, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 potato, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

1ltr vegetable stock

1 tsp ground cumin

8 slices of bacon, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

Method

Pre heat the oven to 200C

1 - In a large pan or saute pan heat the olive oil and add the celeriac, onion, potato, carrots and 4 slices of chopped bacon

2 - Mix the ingredients thoroughly and cook over a medium to high heat for 10 minutes, stirring regularly

3 - Sprinkle over the cumin and pour over the stock, bring to the boil and leave to simmer for 30 minutes

4 - Place the remaining bacon in a roasting tin and place in the centre of the pre heated oven, toss the bacon regularly to ensure it cooks all over

5 - Once the vegetable are soft remove from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes before blending

6 - Once cooled slightly place in a blender and blitz until smooth

7 - Remove the roasting tin of bacon from the oven, you should have really crispy bacon

8 - To serve place the soup in a bowl and scatter over some of the super crispy bacon

The crispy bacon adds a little something to the soup and makes a truly delicious topping!

Enjoy x