Spring celeriac soup with rhubarb

I have just bought the first rhubarb this spring! Year on year, I tend to enjoy such seasonal novelties more and more. I have been waiting for that unique sour taste for so long! Even the walk back home with those long rhubarb stalks sticking out of my backpack was a big thing – I was thinking how great this time of year is, seeing people returning from grocery shopping with rhubarb stalks sticking out of their bags. I have to admit that seeing an unknown gentleman on the train with a half-open backpack and a rhubarb stalk leaning out was like a signal for the rhubarb-season opening for me. So, when I was walking back home with my shopping half an hour later, I hoped that my rhubarb-packed backpack would also inspire somebody. And so, a simple walk home after grocery shopping was a greater pleasure than usual and a harbinger of this delicious slightly-sour spring soup.

About 5 servings

  • 1 medium celeriac
  • 1 thick rhubarb stalk or 2 smaller, slimmer ones
  • 3 small potatoes (or 2 larger ones)
  • 1 white onion
  • 3 tbsp frying oil
  • 1 cup of unsweetened plant-based milk (I used soy milk)
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
  • 1 tsp of sugar
  • Ground pepper (preferably white) and salt (1 tsp at least!)

For serving:

  • A little olive oil or cold-pressed rapeseed oil
  • A piece of good bread
  • A handful of toasted, crushed walnuts

1. Wash and prepare the ingredients: peel the celeriac with a knife (you can cut off quite thick pieces of the skin and keep them for the zero-waste broth), peel the onions and potatoes, do not peel the rhubarb!

2. Cut the onion into large, uneven pieces. Dice the potatoes and the celeriac, and then cut the rhubarb into small chunks (the green part too!). Heat up the oil in a medium-sized pot.

3. Fry the onion with a large pinch of salt for about 4-5 minutes over a high heat, stirring occasionally. Then add the celeriac, potatoes and rhubarb. Pour some hot water over it so that it just covers the vegetables.

4. Bring the soup to a boil, cover the pot, and let it cook on low heat for about 25 minutes.

5. Take the pot off the heat. Add the mustard, nutmeg, sugar, pepper and more salt. Blend everything with a hand blender, gradually adding the milk. Thanks to this you will achieve a velvety texture. You don’t have to use up the whole cup of milk if you have already achieved the desired texture (the soup will thicken a little over time).

6. Try the soup. A right balance is important: maybe your soup needs some salt, a pinch of nutmeg, or more pepper. Try it and season it further to make it slightly sour, salty, and refreshing.

Still hungry?