Celeriac Soup with Pickled Rhubarb
There’s so much rhubarb in the patch that it is becoming a bit of a problem. Rampant and unwieldy, it is technically caged in a spot removed from the main veg beds to protect it from the rabbits, but I think the barbed wire is really to keep it from taking over the EVERYTHING.
It lives in a very sheltered spot too so it crops enthusiastically from now until July when I stop picking it so it can recover and replenish its nutrients for next year’s harvest. Perhaps I should be tougher on it?
Anyway, its abundance means I find myself with the first of many main crop rhubarb gluts. Now, main crop is a different beast from its dainty, forced sister. Those pink, delicate stems look petite in comparison to the hulking great wedges of reddish-green stems that you get from main crop. They are less sweet too. More sour kick than candy sweet. Which I like. Main crop rhubarb lends itself to savoury dishes, bringing a welcome tartness to oily fish or to cut through things like pork in the way apple sauce might in more traditional contexts.
And that’s how I decide to use it this week – in a savoury soup. I make a thyme and celeriac soup, all nutty and creamy and deeply, deeply savoury. Then I finish it with quick pickled rhubarb ribbons – a sour tang that sits in glorious contrast to the soup. It sounds a bit of strange combination, I’ll admit. But go with it. I promise you’ll like it.
Celeriac Soup with Pickled Rhubarb
Ingredients
- ½ large celeriac
- 25g butter
- 1 tsp chopped thyme leaves
- up to 300ml whole milk
- 4 tbsp cider vinegar
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 1 stick rhubarb
Instructions
- Melt the butter gently in a heavy saucepan whilst you peel and finely slice the celeriac. Add the celeriac and thyme to the butter with a pinch of salt and sweat for 10-15 minutes until the celeriac is very soft. Add half the milk then bring to the boil briefly before blending with a hand blender. Gradually add more milk until you have a smooth, thick soup. Season to taste.
- For the rhubarb, put the sugar and the vinegar in a small saucepan and set over a low heat until the sugar melts. Remove from the heat. Use a peeler to peel the rhubarb into long, thin ribbons. Add the ribbons to the pickling liquor and leave to steep for 5 minutes.
- To serve, drain the rhubarb, pour the soup into warmed bowls and top with the pickled ribbons.
