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Back on the 22nd of March we posted a little update from the garden on our Instagram site to share that the most exciting thing going on in the green house at that time was... Chickpeas! Not a native crop, and not one you'd necessarily expect to flourish half way up the side of a Welsh valley but we like to apply creativity and curiosity to all our ventures so Nik thought it was worth a shot... Here's a little update to fill you in on how it went!
To be honest, when Nik first presented me with celeriac, I had no idea what to do with the strange, alien root. I'd never really encountered it before. I might even have avoided it once or twice, but I've warmed up to it now and this soup has been a part of that process. So, if you're as baffled as I was by the poor old knobbly celeriac, this recipe might just be for you! To make this soup as a filling and generous meal for two (depending on your appetite) or a side for more (depending upon what you're serving it with) you'll need a small squash and a couple of small celeriac, a baby leek, a cup of red lentils, a lemon, some olive oil and plenty of fresh ground black pepper and sea salt. That's it. Making the Soup...
To do this, I halve and deseed the squash and chop the peeled celeriac into fairly small, bite size chunks. The halves of squash act as handy bowls to submerge the chopped leek in the oil and help prevent it burning whilst the flesh absorbs all the flavour. Additionally, once the flesh is scooped out, the skins are delicious either sliced and re-roasted to make a sort of plant jerky or stuffed and served with rice and salad. Why throw that delicacy away!? Anyway, I digress... However you're preparing the veg, drizzle it in a little olive oil and season it with salt and pepper before popping it in a good, hot oven. While the veg is roasting, you can be boiling and skimming the lentils, and knocking up a batch of wholesome rolls to go with the soup (sorry, I'm showing off now). It'll take 30 to 40 minutes to roast the squash and celeriac at full temperature, depending on your oven. When the veg is tender, scoop the squash flesh and leek pieces out (do let them cool a bit first!) and stir them into the lentils with the celeriac chunks and a little more salt and pepper. Let them simmer on low for half an hour or so whilst you prepare the kale by slicing it and gently coating it in more olive oil and a good grind of sea salt. These like to be spread thinly on a baking tray and roasted at about 180°c for 15 to 20 minutes. If you've got a fan oven, it'll go much quicker, I used to crouch by my fan oven, sprung and ready to dive at the critical moment between 'crisp' and 'cremated'! It's good if you can time this for the serving of the soup but if you make them in advance, they might need a little re-crisp (exercising the same caution) just before service.
Serve with a big smile and warm, fresh crusty bread. Oh, and a spoon. You'll probably need one of those. Having said that, slurping it straight from the bowl would be pretty indulgent and I'd highly approve. Go for it!
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