Apple and celeriac soup

This deliciously creamy soup combines the delicate flavour of celeriac with a fruity hit of fresh apples. A mix of dessert and cooking apples makes it a little less sweet with a refreshing zing.

We’re growing lovage in our herb garden, and this would work brilliantly with the flavours, but we’ve used thyme here because lovage is hard to find. If you want to cook the soup at home for grown-ups then top with a dollop of fiery horseradish.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, diced

1 stick celery, chopped

1 celeriac, chopped

2 Cox’s apples, peeled, cored and chopped

1 Bramley apple, peeled cored and chopped

4 sprigs of thyme2 litres low-salt veg stock

200ml crème fraîche

Method

• Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onions and celery until soft but not brown.
• Add the apples and celeriac then cook for five more minutes, stirring to stop them sticking.
• Pour in the stock and add three sprigs of thyme.
• Bring to the boil, then gently simmer for around 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
• Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before blending with half the crème fraîche.

Serve with a little swirl of crème fraîche in each bowl and a pinch of fresh thyme leaves.