Selleriecremesuppe mit Kräuterseitlingen (celeriac cream soup with king trumpet mushrooms)
A smooth celeriac soup topped with king trumpet mushrooms seared hard in a dry pan until deeply browned, which is the entire point of the dish; a pale, gently cooked mushroom disappears into the soup, while a properly seared one gives a meaty contrast against the soft purée. Celeriac's flavour is far more assertive than plain celery and carries the soup on its own.
Christoph's celeriac soup with seared king trumpet mushrooms, the mushrooms browned hard rather than gently cooked so they stand out against the smooth soup.
Ingredients
Written for a 3 L pot
Soup
- 600 g celeriac, peeled, in chunks rounded
- 150 g onion, finely chopped rounded
- 1 garlic clove rounded
- 30 g butter rounded
- 800 ml vegetable broth rounded
- 100 ml cream rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
- to taste freshly grated nutmeg rounded
Mushrooms
- 250 g king trumpet mushrooms, sliced lengthwise, 1 cm thick rounded
- 15 g neutral oil rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Sweat the onion and garlic with a pinch of salt for 4 minutes, until softened.
- Add the celeriac and broth. Bring to a simmer and cook 20 minutes, until the celeriac is fully soft.
- Blend the soup completely smooth, then stir in the cream and season with salt and nutmeg.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a dry, heavy pan over high heat until shimmering. Sear the mushroom slices for 2 to 3 minutes per side, without moving them, until deeply browned; resist the urge to stir them around, which prevents the browning that is the point of this step.
- Season the mushrooms with salt. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the seared mushroom slices.
Method in the Thermomix
Written for a TM5 or TM6, 2.2 litre bowl. This covers the soup base; the mushrooms are seared conventionally in a pan, since the machine has no way to sear.
- Onion and garlic into the dry bowl. Chop 3 sec / speed 5. Add the butter. Sauté 4 min / 100°C / speed 1, measuring cup off.
- Add the celeriac and broth. Cook 20 min / 100°C / speed 1.
- Blend the soup smooth, 1 min / speed 9, ramping up gradually. Add the cream, mix 10 sec / speed 3. Season with salt and nutmeg.
- Sear the mushrooms in a pan as in the hand method, and top the soup with them to serve.
Notes
- Sear the mushroom slices hard, in a very hot, dry pan, and leave them alone once they hit the heat. Moving them around too soon steams rather than browns them, and a steamed king trumpet mushroom disappears into the soup rather than standing out against it.
- Celeriac has a far more assertive flavour than pale celery, and carries this soup on its own without needing a heavy hand with seasoning beyond salt and nutmeg.
- Blend the soup thoroughly for a genuinely silky texture; celeriac fibres can leave a soup slightly stringy if underblended.
- The soup keeps for 4 days in the fridge; the mushrooms are best seared fresh just before serving and do not reheat with the same texture.
Ingredient substitutions
- King trumpet mushrooms can be regular button mushrooms or thickly sliced portobello, though king trumpet mushrooms hold their shape best under a hard sear.
- Cream can be crème fraîche for a slight tang, or oat cream for a dairy-free version.
- A drizzle of truffle oil over the finished soup is a good, if non-traditional, finishing touch.
From Christoph Mayer