Elegant Leek & Celeriac Soup

Leek & Celeriac Soup
Toasted Sesame Oil & Black Sesame Seed Garnish
Ciabatta Toast with Smoked Gouda

We recently had one last Holiday Party…
Menu
Pork Potstickers, Apricot Dipping Sauce
Elegant Leek & Celeriac Soup, Smoked Gouda Ciabatta Toast
Pork Roast Roulade
Stuffed with Sausage, Pistachio & Chestnut
Cider Gravy
Wild Arugula Salad with Pistachios, Sherry Vinaigrette
Chocolate Pineapple Soup, Pound Cake Crouton
Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 (Thanks Adam!)

Leek & Celeriac Soup

Sauté three chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only) in olive oil until tender. Add 1/2 c. dry white wine and reduce by half. Add 6 c. vegetable stock (purchased or homemade). I am a big fan of Wolfgang Puck’s brand stock. Bring to a boil then reduce heat.

Peel and chop two celeriac and roughly chop 3 celery stalks including leaves. Add vegetables and 2 bay leaves to the soup pot and simmer until the celeriac is tender, about 40 minutes.

Let cool, then remove bay leaves and refrigerate overnight to meld the flavors. The next day, puree the soup either in a food processor or with an immersion blender.

Then force the pureed soup through a fine mesh sieve. This is a key step to getting the wonderful elegant texture of the soup.

Reheat the soup. Add low sodium soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 c. cream and warm to serving temperature without boiling.

Garnish with toasted sesame oil and black sesame seeds. Serve with toasted ciabatta bread brushed with olive oil and top with shredded smoked gouda. We all loved this soup, it had intriguing earthy flavors and a velvety creaminess. The crispy smokey toasts complemented the soup wonderfully.

This lovely tea cup and platter set was a wedding gift to my mother from my paternal grandmother. They are on long-term loan to me now, thanks Ma!
Pork Roast Roulade


I read about this lovely pork roast roulade with cider gravy on Amy & Jonny’s fantastic blog, We Are Never Full.

The terrific stuffing is made with Italian sausage, breadcrumbs, pistachios, and chestnuts. The tasty pork is rubbed with Quatre èpices (ground pepper, cloves, nutmeg and ginger), the delicious gravy made with hard cider. You can get the complete recipe on their site here.

I also wanted to thank Pam of the delightful Sidewalk Shoes blog for the idea to cut pine branches to make an arrangement. I am lucky that my red roses were also blooming, so together with tall slim candles they made a festive holiday centerpiece.

My holiday decorations are (almost) all put away now. How about you?

22 thoughts on “Elegant Leek & Celeriac Soup”

  1. I wish I was there for the party. The menu sounds very delicious and I'm sure it was. The pork roast roulade look really tempting right about now.

  2. Oh why didn't I see this before I just put the roast pork in the oven? I even have pistachios, fresh chestnuts and sausage on hand. I must must try this next time. The soup looks great too – celery root is so underused.

  3. I love the flavors in your soup. I have just recently started to truly appreciate leeks and celeriac. Beautiful photos!

  4. WOW!!! your pork looks amazing! (obviously everything else does too) – i love that we're still talking holidays!! thank you so much for trying our recipe and showing your lovely photos of it. HAPPY 2010!!!

  5. Your table always looks amazing and this time is no exception. I am still a bit intimidated by celeriac: I guess I should get over my fear in the new year.

  6. What lovely table decor, and that soup looks great. On a cold night like tonight I bet even the memory keeps you warm, because the photo does me!

  7. Thanks for the shoutout, sweetie. I am somewhat ashamed to say that my pine branches are still in the milk bottle on my dining room table. I keep waiting for the needles to fall off, but it hasn't happened yet.

  8. Now are you sure that's the last 'holiday' party?? What a wonderful way to go. You did a great job on the pork roulade. It looks beautiful!

  9. Happy New Year dear Lori!! I have missed all you beautiful food and photos while on holiday…..do you mind if I stay a while and read more????

    That Pork roulade has my attention for sure!

  10. I can't tell you how much I always enjoy looking at your table settings … so beautiful! What a great holiday party and the food looks absolutely delicious. The soup and pork roulade sound amazing.

  11. You must have wonderful parties. I always love going to parties where there's well thought out food. I'm never organized enough to do it myself.

  12. I've been thinking of making a celeriac soup. This looks really classy. It would be my first time cooking with celeriac.

  13. A true feast,! 🙂

    In Washington, I learned to look for celeriac around Jewish holidays (the same for horseradish root) and then buy as much as I hoped to be able to store. Both roots are available in abundance here, I have even learned to snack on raw celeriac. On the other hand, I appreciate parsnips much more now, they seem so much sweeter than I remember them.

    My Christmas tree is still up, I was hoping to catch a sunny day to take pictures of some ornaments. Well, the sunny day came and went and I did not have time to take pictures. I will take the tree down over the next couple of evenings (not that it was up for longer than back in the States, what with the trees going on sale very close to the 24th only).

  14. Such an elegant dinner table with elegant mouth-watering menu to match! This leek and celeriac soup doesn't seem that hard to make. But what I like most about it is that it has no meat in it!

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