Winter Root Vegetable Soup
Recipe by: Fiona Hammond - July 2024
This warming vegetable soup showcasing winter’s sweet root vegetable crop can be served with a shaving of truffle or cheese, delicious in the depths of a cold winter.
- Winter, Spring
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 20g unsalted butter
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 200g carrots, peeled and cut into 1cm dice or thinly sliced
- 200g parsnip, peeled and cut into 1cm dice or thinly sliced
- 250g swede, peeled and cut into 1cm dice
- 400g celeriac, skin removed, cut into 1cm dice
- 400g potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 litres of vegetable stock, chicken stock, or water
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs thyme
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
- 6 leaves of Tuscan kale (cavolo nero), tough stalks removed and leaves finely sliced
- 10g fresh black truffle, finely grated to serve (optional)
- Finely grated pecorino, (or Main Ridge Dairy Caprino), to serve.
Cheese toast:
- 4 slices sour dough bread, cut in half
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 100g pecorino (or Main Ridge Dairy Caprino), to finely grate.
1. Heat the oil and butter in a large heavy based saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, carrots, parsnip, swede, celeriac and potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Reduce the heat if the vegetables are beginning to brown.
2. Pour in the stock, add the bay leaves and thyme. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Season with salt and ground pepper. Stir in the leaves and cook for a further 5 minutes to wilt. Taste and adjust seasoning with extra salt and pepper if needed.
3. To make the cheese toast, lightly brush olive oil over both sides of sliced bread. Heat a medium sized frying pan over a medium-high heat. Finely grated the cheese over each bread slice facing up. Working in batches transfer the bread slice to the frying pan cheese side up. Fry until the underside is golden brown, then flip over and cook the cheese side until melted and golden brown. Repeat cooking with the remaining bread slices.
4. Serve the soup immediately. If using the truffle, finely shave or grate the fresh truffle over the top. Locally grown black truffle pairs well with root vegetables and helps elevate the dish with its umami-ness. The truffle flavour is released when it is finely grated and hits the heat of the soup.
5. Alternatively, if you can’t access fresh truffle, just leave it out and use finely grated caprino or pecorino cheese instead.