Celeriac Fennel Soup
There have been quite a few food blogger and Instagrammer friends who have challenged me to try celeriac cooked – to the point where it’s become slightly irritating. I just don’t like celeriac. My mother used to make a grated raw salad and I couldn’t even handle the smell.
Stefan from Stefan Gourmet was shaming me the other day (kidding) for not yet trying cooked celeriac. He’d just posted a dish with celeriac purée, and tried to convince me that it was a completely different flavor, and how horrible it would be for me to not experience this food out of stubbornness. Which is true, but I’m pretty proud that there’s only one food out there that I don’t like, when most people have lists in the hundreds. (Husband.) Oh, there’s also uni. I always forget that one. Don’t like it.
During the pandemic in the early part of 2021, I discovered a second season of Amy Schumer Loves to Cook, a show I’d mentioned when I made Tinto de Verano, which is excellent. I’m not a huge fan of cooking shows; I’d rather do something more productive with my time. However, this show, filmed by their nanny while the family was holed up in a cabin during the 2020 pandemic, is Amy Schumer and her actual chef husband, Chris Fischer. The whole premise is Chef Fischer teaching Amy how to cook. I LOL’d throughout the episodes. Her husband is straight-faced yet hysterical, and they make a truly enjoyable pair.
In the first season of Amy Schumer Loves to Cook, Chris used a lot of fennel, and it became a running joke. In the second season, celeriac has stepped up to first position. Yuck for me… until… he made a soup with it! Oddly enough, the soup is not only made with celeriac, but also fennel, which I prefer cooked over raw.
The soup is puréed with yogurt and served cold, and it was too intriguing for me to ignore. Maybe people will stop bugging me about celeriac now! I liked this soup!
Celeriac and Fennel Yogurt Soup
Printable recipe below
2 heads celeriac
2 bulbs fennel
1 cup whole fat Greek yogurt
1 cup loosely packed parsley leaves
Salt
White pepper
Spicy croutons, optional
A few fennel fronds, optional
Trim the peel of the celeriac and chop into fairly uniform pieces. Clean and trim the fennel bulbs and chop in similar-sized pieces.
Bring a large pot of water to a full boil on the stove over high heat and add the celeriac and fennel.
When the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes, remove them with a slotted spoon to a blender jar and let cool; save the water.
Purée the vegetables until smooth adding the water as needed. Don’t make it too thin because yogurt will be added.
Add yogurt, parsley, salt and white pepper, and blend until smooth.
Taste for seasoning. I thought the soup rather bland, so I added 2 heaping tablespoons of chicken broth powder to the mixture.
Purée, then chill fully.
Serve cold.
You could add a drizzle of yogurt on the top, but I’m not good at drizzles!
If desired, add a few croutons and some cayenne pepper flakes.
Celeriac and Fennel Yogurt Soup
2 heads celeriac
2 bulbs fresh fennel
Salt
Pepper
Whole fat Greek yogurt
1 cup parsley leaves
Trim the peel of the celeriac and chop into fairly uniform pieces. The smell is already bothering me.
Clean and trim the fennel bulbs and chop in similar-sized pieces.
Bring a large pot of water to a full boil on the stove over high heat and add the celeriac and fennel.
When the vegetables are tender, about so many minutes, remove them with a slotted spoon to a blender jar and let cool.
Add yogurt, salt, pepper, and parsley and blend until smooth.
Let chill fully and serve cold.
About the Author: Chef Mimi
The show is hysterical! I didn’t know it would have a second season, but I’m so happy it does!
I really can hardly stand the smell of raw celery root, let alone the taste, but I’m glad I finally tried it cooked!
I’m with you on celery and celeriac. While I use them both, a lot actually, I do not care for the flavor of either by itself. Almost all my mom’s soups and stews started with onion, celery, and carrot, and if they are not present, something definitely feels missing. I also love the crunch of these vegetables les in a salad, with a lot of other veggies! However, one of the worst side dishes I was ever served was braised celery. I cannot tell you how awful it was!
Blecchhhhh. that really does sound terrible. Celery is just… weird. Although I also use it along with onions often. Celery root is different because of its strong flavor, which is why certain people have been wanting me to try it cooked. It’s a completely different flavor cooked. Thank god.
Yes it does! I’d still rather have mashed potatoes!
Peer pressure! LOL We love fennel but have not tried celery root cooked in a soup. Beautiful photos! I think your addition of vegan chicken powder was a very good thing to give this recipe a much needed added flavor profile.
I know… such pressure! But I’m glad I finally tried it. The soup is good.
I have celeriac root and cook with it often. Your soup looks delicious.
Oops , I mean I love celeriac root
Do you like it raw? That’s my problem. So pungent. The soup turned out really good!
I’m a huge fan of celeriac in any form, and posted a few recipes with it. However, I can see why it’s not for everyone, and it’s perfectly fine not to like an ingredient, or two, or more.. :)
Thank you for validating my very few dislikes of food! My list is short. I was just remembering this morning that I had a soft-shell crab at Prune (NYC) and didn’t like it. I’ll have to try that again to see if it’s the soft-shell crab or the fact that it looks like a giant spider, which is what my sister said.
lol Soft shell crab indeed looks like a giant spider! I definitely prefer crab meat over it. :)
That is SUCH a gorgeous soup! I love the pastel green color; it just looks so refreshing.
It was very tasty, in spite of two ingredients that I don’t enjoy raw. And it really was pretty!
It looks beautiful and so delicious! Yum.
Thanks so much!
I bet you’re better at drizzles than you think. Although this soup is so pretty it hardly matters. GREG
Well, seriously I’m not, but thanks! The soup is really good, and definitely pretty!
I could enjoy this soup, but not cold. I don’t watch cooking shows either unless Dave chooses to watch them.
Somehow, maybe because of the yogurt, it’s really good cold.
i love your beautiful soup bowls but i’m not a huge fan of fennel or celeriac but if you say the soup tastes good …
Ha! Well I don’t like either of them raw, mostly celeriac, but cooked they’re pretty good!
I actually like both celeriac and fennel, and I like them both raw and cooked. Interesting that both vegetables taste entirely different when they’re cooked, too. Never had them together, though, I have to admit. Going to give this a try!
I’m with you about cooking shows (the kind that get featured these days on the Food Network, at least) but this one does sound like a lot of fun. Will have to check it out..
It was especially fun during the pandemic! But I love that he’s a real chef With a cookbook and everything!
A celeriac soup eh? Yep that’s one I’ve not done myself before and as I’m always on the look out for new and interesting recipes this one has been added to the list. Thanks Mimi!
Yep. Odd, right?! Except I guess not since everyone else seems to have already been on the celery root bandwagon…
You know, celeriac is just one of those foods that I have not experimented with very much. However, I am intrigued by this soup – and I like that it is served cold! This would be good for summer lunches!
It tastes good and is definitely pretty, and the yogurt makes it really yummy and refreshing served cold.
Gosh chef Mimi, it does ‘look’ very nice but ssssh, don’t tell, I don’t like celeriac either. Or cold soup. Hats off to you for being brave and am also glad that you liked it. I will never bug you over celeriac, that’s a promise! :)
Thank you! I appreciate that! Have you tried it cooked? It’s definitely different. But I learned from years of cooking for other people that everyone’s allowed to have their own tastes, and it is terrible to shame people for having different tastes in food. Not that anyone did that to me!
I loved that show, too! I made their wonderful Greek Salad Dip, and, like you, loved the chemistry between them, although i doubt if Amy Shumer ever really learned anything about cooking in the show. But also pretty sure with a chef husband, she likely can get by. I remember this soup! I don’t think I’ve ever even used celeriac, but it looks so lovely! And I do love fennel! May have to search for celeriac and give this a go – thanks for the recipe!
I guess the show should be called, “Amy attempts to learn how to cook!” But it’s a fun show for sure. Celeriac is also called celery root, just fyi, when you’re looking for it. The soup is good!
Mimi, this is such a pretty soup — I love the bright color. I admit that I seem to forget celeriac, as it’s just not on my radar. I’ve had it in hot soups but never a cold one. I must try this as I love cold soups during the summer. (And by the way, I LOVE your Tinto de Verano!) :-) ~Valentina
That tinto is fabulous, isn’t it?! Glad you tried it. The soup is good, and definitely pretty. I probably won’t buy celeriac again, but I’m glad I cooked with it!
Thanks for your comment! Now that I’ve had cooked celeriac, I can see it cooked with potatoes! I might definitely do that. The soup was definitely good, and definitely pretty!
I haven’t seen the show, but I definitely will! This soup sounds great. I love the simplicity of the ingredients. Love the color, too. And as the King of Root Vegetables, I’m absolutely fine with celeriac!
Then you’d love this soup. It’s good, and I’m glad I tried it!
I DO like celeriac (and fennel!) so this dish is for me. Haven’t heard of that show, but it sounds like loads of fun.
It’s fun. They were living during the pandemic as well, so it was really interesting!
Im on the same boat, I am not a fan of both specially on soups, its quite tricky to get it right to suit my preference but once its done right they do shine. I guess I will love your recipe, all the elements that I think will work is there.
Well I have to say that is was a great soup. Very enjoyable. It was a relief!
The color of this soup! Just beautiful Mimi, your pictures alone are enough to get me to try this! And with the croutons on top? I’m sure I’d be a fan. 😋
Of course it’s not vegan, but it was very good. I’m relieved it was this good!
I LOLd at the second sentence of your instructions! I’m glad you got over yourself and tried it. :) I love celériac – but for us it’s hard to find. The market had it for two minutes. Will definitely try this soup, as I love both ingredients, and want to check out Any Schumer’s cooking show though, like you, I don’t like or watch cooking shows. People hound me about that like they hound you about celériac! “You HAVE to watch the Great British Baking Show!” No, I don’t.
No, I don’t either. Besides, I’m not a baker. I love your cakelets and the beautiful strawberry heart, but I don’t even click on most all desserts since I know I won’t be making them. Sorry 😬 The show was really funny in that they were going through the pandemic as well, and it was fascinating to find out her husband is really a chef. Kind of dead pan, too, although I just found out he’s autistic so maybe I should say that? 😳 In any case, the soup is really good, and I’ve already made a few recipes from the show!
Don’t worry! I never expect to look at my desserts and am always surprise when hoots one yourself! 😁
I used to read other blogs on the train, and now that I don’t commute anymore, I don’t read enough other blogs! Thanks for the shout out Mimi, and good for you that you tried celeriac. This soup looks intriguing from the color. The celeriac you used is so small that it fits in the palm of your hand! Here they are usually larger than my hand. If you want to make this again (or even try to make celeriac puree without fennel), you could cook the vegetables sous vide (1 hour at 185F) instead of boiling it. That way, more flavor will remain in the vegetables. Celeriac is also very good when roasted in the oven. But perhaps I should not push my luck :-)
Hahahahahaha! Maybe not! But I am glad I tried it, and I’m sure the purée is wonderful. I’m assuming you can still work from home. My daughter and husband in New York City are doing that, fortunately. Thanks for the sous vide tip!
Oh yes we are both working from home. My commute is 10 seconds instead of 50 minutes, of which I used to spend about 30 (the time on train and subway) reading other blogs.
Then you’d definitely love this. It’s wonderful.
I do not like it raw either and raw celery is definitely a leave-it item. But cooked they do taste entirely different, it tames them. It’s an interesting mix of flavors because I find raw fennel also strong tasting.
Exactly. So it was really a test for me, because I have never liked very much raw fennel, either! But this soup turned out great! And it is pretty.