We just came back from a short ski trip in Bulgaria. It was relaxing and nice, as we got to spend some quality time with my parents, and Raya was very happy to see them. My father loves skiing and we had a great time in the mountains. The second day as we were walking towards the ski cabin we had a small conversation and I was telling him how amazing it is that our bodies are capable of doing so much for us. I was on such a high and felt incredibly grateful for the ability to move my body, to be able to exercise and ski. We both agreed that indeed, there is nothing more precious than being in good shape and health. Ironically as it is, the next day while skiing I fell down and injured my knee badly. A special team had to come to take me down to the base as I was not able to move, and so the ski holiday was over for me.

I was thinking a lot about what happened, as I don’t believe this was just a coincidence. I was rushing down the ski piste, leaving behind my dad and Elliot when this happened. I was reckless if I have to be totally honest. Now that my knee injury has forced me to slow down and think about it all I am starting to see the lesson this injury is trying to teach me. And I am complying (as much as I can). I have been taking it easy and have slowed down. My mom was happy to take care of me during the rest of our holiday, which was incredibly nice, and I felt spoiled in a real good way 😉 I am reevaluating a lot of the things in my life and have started to get rid of things and thought patterns that are no longer serving me or that are only contributing to more stress. So, in a way, I am grateful for this injury. I have also slowed down while cooking and eating, which has made a difference.

While I can’t really be standing up and cooking right now, I couldn’t help it last night as I felt the urge to try a new recipe. I had an entire celeriac and lots of Jerusalem artichokes and I needed to use them in some way. I have never cooked a celeriac until this point (crazy, I know!) so I felt a bit intimidated by it at first. So, I did the easiest thing: I sliced it in half, inserted some cloves into it, and popped it into the oven for about an hour. Wow, did you know baked celeriac is actually quite tasty? Anyways, I felt I needed to use it in a different way. I decided to use it in a cream soup, the recipe of which I am about to share with you today. I suppose you can also boil the celeriac, but since I didn’t try that I will leave the exact instructions for what I did, so you get the same flavor.

Celeriac and Jerusalem artichokes make a delicious combination, not to mention that they both have some impressive nutrients. Celeriac has a similar flavor to celery but it is earthier. It is a good source of vitamin K (150g of celeriac give you about 50% of your daily requirements), and it also contains vitamins C, B6 and B5, which play an important role in macronutrient synthesis that is important for the production of energy. Celeriac contains minerals, such as iron, manganese and potassium. It is also a very good source of phosphorus, which together with vitamin K, help with bone metabolism. Vitamin K also promotes calcium absorption and is important nutrient for bone health.

I have already mentioned some of the benefits of Jerusalem artichoke in my kitcheree recipe, but since I’ve been using this vegetable a lot lately, here’s some more reasons why you should include it in your menu as well: it is a great source of fiber, which helps with digestion and keeps the friendly bacteria in our gut happy. It is also a source of minerals and electrolytes, like iron (100g provide you with 3,4mg iron!), and potassium (important for heart health and blood pressure).

I think that’s enough reasons for you to try this soup.😉 And now let’s dive into the recipe.

Celeriac and Jerusalem Artichoke Cream Soup

• Time: 1h 20min
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

• 1 celeriac (you can bake it in the oven, scoop out and discard the skin and add to the soup)
• 4 medium Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and chopped into small chunks
• ¼ leek
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 600ml vegetable stock (or more if you like your soup thinner)
• 250ml oat milk
• 6 tbsp coconut cream (or just the thick part on top of the coconut milk can)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp ghee
• 1 ½ tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Parsley for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Slice the celeriac in half, pinch a few cloves on the skin and bake for about an hour. Once the inside of the celeriac is soft, it is ready. Discard the skin and the cloves and set aside.
2. Place the ghee, Jerusalem artichokes, onion, leek, and garlic in a big pot and sauté them for about 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn them. You can add a bit of water to prevent them from going brown. 3. Add the vegetable stock and bay leaves, cover the pot and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Add the baked and chopped celeriac, oat milk, coconut cream and apple cider vinegar. Stir well to combine.
4. Discard the bay leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. You can then blend the soup with either a hand blender or wait until it cools a bit, transfer to a blender and blend until creamy and smooth.
6. I have garnished my soup with parsley and thinly sliced Jerusalem artichokes (I used a peeler to slice them) that I have sautéed in a little bit of ghee until they got brown and curled up a little.

Enjoy!