Celeriac, sprouts and bacon soup recipe

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
by   |   0 comments  |   Print recipe
Sign in to save recipe
Celeriac, sprouts and bacon soup recipe

I quite often blitz surplus root veg and cooked greens together. Brussels sprouts puréed with creamed celeriac and some stock was a particularly successful improvisation, and now I make this lovely soup from scratch. A handful of crisp, salty bacon bits is a great finishing touch.

At a glance
  • Cuisine English
  • Recipe Type Soup
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Preparation time 10 mins
  • Cooking time 35 mins
  • Serves 4 people
Ingredients
  • 30 g (1.1oz) butter
  • 2 tbsp sunflower, rapeseed or olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 500 g (17.6oz) celeriac, peeled and cubed
  • 700 ml (24.6fl oz) vegetable stock
  • 200 g (7.1oz) Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced
  • 6 rashers of unsmoked streaky bacon or pancetta, cut into small lardons
  • 100 ml (3.5fl oz) double cream, or milk (if you prefer a lighter soup)
  • 1 pinch sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Step-by-step

  1. Heat the butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and sweat gently for a few minutes. Add the celeriac, stir to combine, then cover and sweat for about 10 minutes to soften.
  2. Add the stock, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the celeriac is tender. Add the sprouts, return to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes more. Puree the whole lot in a blender until smooth. Return to the pan.
  3. While the soup is cooking, heat a trickle more oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry the bacon until crisp and golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper.
  4. Add the cream or milk to the soup and reheat gently. Season with salt and pepper and serve, scattered with the bacon.
  5. For a vegetarian version, just serve the soup without the bacon. Some toasted blanched almonds or crispy, garlicky bread croutons are great alternatives to the bacon to give the soup a bit of a fancy finish.

Recipe taken from Hugh’s Three Good Things, by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Text by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, 2012. Photographs by Simon Wheeler, 2012. Published by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2012.

You might also like:

Minestrone soup with chicken

Watercress soup 

Top 10 soup recipes