I’ve posted other celeriac soup recipes on the blog, in fact very recently one including apple (click here – and for more information on celeriac). I’ve always known I like celeriac but clearly I like it more than I’d previously realised! This one came about through changed plans yesterday that meant a celeriac I’d bought wasn’t going to be used. And then there was the freshly made chicken stock. How could I not put them together?

I usually chop up the celeriac and do the whole thing in a big pan on top of the stove. But I decided to roast the celeriac instead. I like roasting vegetables for soup – Roast Tomato & Thyme, Roasted Cauliflower with Spices, Roast Squash & Tomato – and think it gives the soup a lovely deep flavour. Vegetables have a more intense flavour when roasted, and then you get gorgeous caramelised bits on some of the edges (though don’t let them burn). Make sure you scrape up any caramelised bits stuck to the pan when you’re blending at the end. As a method, it’s really much easier as you can just cut everything up and throw into an ovenproof dish and straight into the oven.

Roasted Celeriac Soup – Serves 4

• 1 celeriac (about 800g)
• 1 large potato
• 1 stick of celery
• 1 medium onion
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme or oregano
• 750ml chicken (or vegetable) stock

Peel the celeriac. This is best done with a very sharp knife, cutting off the top and bottom first and then cutting downwards as you move the celeriac round. Cut into chunks – about 2½cm/1 inch cubes.

Then peel and chop the potato into similar sized chunks; then the celery and onion. Put them all into a large shallow ovenproof dish that can also go on the hob. Drizzle over a generous amount (about 3-4 tablespoons) olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Scatter over the herbs. Now use your hands to carefully fold over and mix all together and coat the pieces of vegetables in oil. Put into a 200C/180 Fan/Gas 6 oven for about 50 minutes. The time will vary slightly depending on the size of your chunks. Give it all a stir a couple of times during the cooking so the top pieces don’t get burnt and more pieces enjoy the caramelisation effect.

When everything is nicely golden brown and the vegetables cooked through (test with a sharp knife or fork), remove from the oven.

Spoon the vegetables into a large, deep pan. Then pour a little of the stock into the pan you cooked the vegetables in and put over a medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon, which you can use to scrape any caramelised bits that have caught on the bottom and sides (not burnt bits!). Tip it over the vegetables and add the rest of the stock. Bring up to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes for everything to amalgamate.

Now use a stick blender to blend it all to a lovely smooth and creamy soup.

I like this kind of soup to be quite thick but thin it to the consistency you prefer, if necessary, either with more hot stock or some boiling water. Check seasoning.

Serve with a dollop of cream or yoghurt, if you like, and garnish with some chopped parsley or even a few thyme leaves if you put fresh thyme in the soup. It also occurred to me as I was ladling the soup into the bowl that a garnish of crispy bacon would be nice too, for something more special, as bacon and celeriac go well together. However you eat it, the flavour of roasted celeriac is truly special.