WFA Day & Celeriac and Pear Soup with Fresh Thyme

Firstly, I would like to take a moment to remember that October 2 is World Farm Animal Day. Let us remember and wish peace on our fellow creatures who suffer so greatly at our hands.



And now, for something completely different...

Celeriac & Pear Soup

My significant other is Irish, and as such, we lived in Ireland for several years before coming to the US. While living in Dublin, I worked in a vegetarian restaurant run by the inimitable Mary Farrell. She actually put one of my baking recipes in her cookbook (shameless plug).

The food there was healthy whole food...simple, but tasty. One day, chef decided that the soup du jour would be a celeriac and pear soup. I don't know what she put in it other than those two ingredients, and I don't even remember whether I liked it, but that's what gave me the idea for this soup.

Nature's bounty

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Earth Balance
1 large leek, sliced
1 small shallot, diced
2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 small or 1 large celeriac root, peeled and greens taken off... ~ 1 generous cup chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 medium Bosc pears...~ 1 generous cup chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
4 cups water (or 2 cups veggie broth of choice + 2 cups water)
salt and pepper to taste
fresh thyme to garnish

If you want, you can use the green celery part of the celeriac for extra flavor. But I chose to leave it out in order to minimize the green color in the soup. I'll save these to put in homemade vegetable broth this weekend.

In a large pot, saute the leek and shallot in the Earth Balance. When the leek and shallot begin to become tender and a lovely aroma of leek and shallot begins to waft through the air, inhale deeply several times and add the celeriac and potato. Stir it all together and add the water and/or veggie broth. Bring to simmer and let cook for about 1/2 hour.

When the potato and celeriac are tender, toss in the pear. Let simmer for another 10 minutes. Blend ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Return to pot and add salt and pepper to taste. Add more water (if necessary) to reach desired consistency. Garnish with fresh thyme.

Adding pears

I think any kind of pear would work fine, I used Bosc because they are soft and sweet, and cook down quickly. I left the skins on because Bosc pears generally have thin skins and I thought they would add a golden color to the soup. The soup is savory and sweet at the same time, and makes a nice autumn dish.