… since my internment at the Whipps Cross holiday camp my sleeping patterns have been completely messed up and totally unpredictable… the dear nurses would come in at the most peculiar hours, throughout the ‘night’ waking you up, strapping things to your arm and sticking thermometres in your mouth, all in the name of science and after 4 nights I was going a little crazy with the sleep deprivation and I think it’s still effecting me… i’ll be happily getting on with my day one minute only to find myself fast asleep the next. Mornings can start as early as 5am and no amount of pretending to be asleep seems to fix it… i’m lucky it’s summer and there’s plenty of light, i’m sure if it were winter i’d be curled in a ball under the bed…
… my stomach is also very much touch and go at the moment and i’m experimenting with different foods which is quite exciting… my big thing at the moment is flax seed as it’s exceptionally good for digestion – but more of that in a later post. Some days i’m handling the roughage quite well and really enjoying the benefits of all the incredible fresh fruit and veg… but other days my stomach simply can’t handle anything other than a glass of water and i’m not convinced this blog would do very well if I simply posted photo’s of my H2O consumption…
celeriac, lettuce and pea soup
of course half way between water and solids comes the much varied food group known to most as soup and now that summer’s in full swing the choice and variation of vegetables out there is seemingly endless… almost every greengrocers I went into this week had the sadly ugly face of celeriac leering at me from the fake grass covered shelves like a poorly produced Dr Who villain, plus a plethora of lettuce in the fridge swung the flavour of this soup in a rather tasty direction… it tastes of pure goodness and whilst the celeriac seems like quite a delicate flavour it actually adds a very subtle aniseed undertone to the bowl which is enhanced by one or two of my favourite fennel seeds… a good soup for a healthy belly and hopefully some well timed sleep…
1 medium onion – finely chopped
1/2 a large celeriac – peeled and cubed
1 large head of round lettuce
400g frozen peas
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 pints of good quality veg stock
greek yoghurt and chives to serve
olive oil and salt and pepper
in a large pan saute the onions on a gentle heat with a little olive oil until soft, then add the celeriac and stir. Place the lid on the pan and let the veg sweat for 5 mins, then add the lettuce, peas and fennel seeds and let them sweat again with the lid on for a further 5 mins.
add the stock and let it gently simmer for 20 mins, then in with the hand-held whizzer until thick and smooth
serve with a dollop of greek yoghurt, some chives and a pretty chive flower for colour
eat and of course, enjoy!
What an absolutely STUNNING looking soup Dom and such BEAUTIFUL photos too! I LOVE chive flowers as decoration as well as being used in cooking, and made a salad the other day using them……this is a fabulous recipe and I have bookmarked it to make the next time I buy some celeriac! A souper Saturday post!! (Sorry) Karen xxx
I love celeriac! It's a magic soup ingredient that thickens without too many calories and adds flavour too!
I love soup and when it's as pretty as you have made this bowl, how could anyone resist.
In my defense, I was away in mid-May. I've gone back through your posts to see how you ended up in the hospital. So sorry to be late in sending you well wishes. I hope that you will soon be completely mended.
Best,
Bonnie
Such bonny presentation Dom, lovely. I've heard about the magical properties of flax seeds and fling them into everything with gay abandon; pasta sauces, cereal bowls, crumble mix, bread dough, smoothies, stirred into yoghurt; nobody and nothing is safe from a handful of flax in my house. Absolutely no idea whether it makes any difference but it surely can't hurt!
Now here is a soup with a difference and what pretty presentation too. I have just discovered liquorice tea and love it – very good for the digestion too.
I love how you have swirled this tasty soup Dom. So satisfying.
My doctor recommended flax to me and it seems to have helped immensely. It has to be ground, you know. I grind mine in a coffee grinder. Funny, I had pea soup on my to make list for this week.
It looks delish, and very wholesome. Definitely one for me to make.
Thanks for the recipe.
Oh dear is your tummy still being funny? A chinese mum's solution to this is congee. Try that, soothes all tummy troubles and sickneeses and is my ultimate comfort food. Soup looks fab anyhow, and wonderfully creamy and green, so you did well anyway! x
Wonderful Blog! Every picture makes me so hungry. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
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Oh gosh that photo looks so enticing! Soup is always such a hard one to snap too. I only tried celeriac last year and loved it. Must try this soup 🙂
Wow, what a gorgeous looking soup. My chive flower tops are so pale in comparison to your lovely deep tops. Feel better soon Dom!
That's such a gorgeous photo – and the soup sounds lovely too. Sorry to hear you're still poorly, but remember Rome wasn't built in a day and other unsuitable cliches. My Nana's remedy for tummy woes was grated apple that's been left to go brown. Looks vile, tastes nice, is kind to troubled tummies. And if all else fails, you could make glasses of water entertaining x
Were you a barista in a previous life? That's some amazing swirl art on top, I'm mesmerized.
I'm deeply fond of the poor old ugly celeriac. Definitely my kind of soup.