This cozy soup is a family favorite! Easy to make, full of nourishment and memories of my best friend Meredith. We traveled to Ireland in 2019 for our first international trip as a family and stayed with our best friends for two weeks. It was the best vacation we have ever taken. So much beauty, culture, history and time with some of our favorite people. One night, we stopped by a little produce stand to grab some veggies for dinner. Meredith picked out this strange looking, wrinkly brown ball of a vegetable and introduced me to celeriac, also known as celery root. The root of the celery plant and full of flavor, this dense, somewhat spongy vegetable is ugly to the eye but delicious! Simmered with onion, apple and a few spices this soup will become a family favorite. This recipe, from Every Last Bite, is almost exactly like Meredith’s and one that I’ve been making ever since our trip. It is totally vegan, gluten free, dairy free, grain free, nut free (unless you top with walnuts like I did here), paleo and whole 30 approved. I hope you give it a try and enjoy it! I love how food can transport you to a different time and place and I so enjoy memories of our trip and our people each time we enjoy this soup.

YIELDS: 12 SERVINGS

TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR

Ingredients

2 onions diced

2 TBSP olive oil

6 small apples or 2 large, cored, peeled and diced into small cubes

2 medium celeriac peeled and diced into small cubes

2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp salt

6 cups vegetable stock

2 cups almond milk

4 TBSP walnuts (for garnishing if desired)

1 TBSP thyme (for garnishing if desired)

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add in the onion and cook for a few minutes until it begins to soften.

2. Add in the cubed apple, celeriac, thyme, salt and vegetable stock and let simmer for 20 minutes until the celeriac is soft.

3. Transfer everything from the pot into a blender and blend or alternatively use a hand emulsifier to puree everything in the pot. Once smooth, return the mixture to the pot and add in the almond milk. Stir and bring to a boil. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt, thyme or vegetable stock if too thick.

4. In a bowl combine the chopped walnuts and thyme and mix

5. Serve the soup topped with the walnuts and thyme. Enjoy!

Notes: You can easily make this as a crock pot recipe, I do it often! Just throw everything into the crock pot, with the exception of the almond milk. Crock for about 6 hours and then blend ingredients together. Stir in almond milk and allow to cook for another 30 minutes or so. Serve topped with walnuts and thyme and enjoy!