Thursday 23 November 2017

Celeriac soup with smoked haddock and leeks


One of the perks of working at home is the ability to make lunch in a full kitchen. Sometimes, I might take that just a tad too far. This might have been one of those times.

I had some celeriac in the fridge and I have been trying to eat more fish recently, so there was some  haddock too. Consequently I came up with this mongrel of a recipe, but it's tasty. Very tasty.

It's not too fishy, but the flakes of white fish under the earthy creamy soup are great combination. The cheesy crouton even works as well. (I'm normally a staunch advocate of the "no fish with cheese" rule). The crispy chorizo and pumpkin seeds for a garnish worked remarkably well too.

Altogether this was a meal born of opportunity but was perfectly fitting for a cold winter's day.

Celeriac soup with haddock and leeks

Ingredients:
~300g Smoked haddock, boned removed, skin on
~500ml milk
Bay leaves
Peppercorns
1 leek, finely sliced
Celeriac, peeled and cut into large dice
Bunch parsley, roughly chopped, stalks reserved
Optional crouton and garnish:
Slice of bread
Strong cheddar, grated
Slices of chorizo, large dice
Pumpkin seeds

Method:
1. Put the haddock skin up into a frying pan and use enough milk to just cover. Add bay leaves and peppercorns.
2. Bring the milk to a gentle simmer. Take the pan of the heat. Turn the fish over and cover. Leave for 20minutes.
3. Meanwhile, sweat the leeks in a generous knob of butter over a gently heat until soft. (I find a pinch of sat and use of lid works well).
4. Remove half the leeks from the pan and reserve, if you want to make the crouton.
5. Add the celeriac to the leeks and fry briefly to add a bit of colour.
6. Drain the milk from the haddock and add to the celeriac and leeks. Top up with water, if required. Add the parsley stalks.
7. Bring tot eh boil and simmer until the celeriac is soft, ~15min.
8. Remove the parsley stalks and blitz the soup until smooth. Add more water/milk until it reaches your required consistency. 
9. Put the soup in a pan and the chopped parsley leaves and keep warm. Season to taste (I'd suggest being aggressive with the pepper)
10. To make the garnish, dry fry the chorizo and pumpkin until the meat is crisp and the pumpkin seeds "popped"
11. To make the croutons, toast the bread and smother with leeks. Cover generously with cheese and grill to melting perfection.
11. To serve, put flakes of the haddock in the bottom of the serving dish and cover with the soup. Scatter over some chorizo and pumpkin seeds and finish with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

1 comment:

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