Chickpea (garbanzo bean), celeriac, squash, cabbage and fennel seed soup

September is the best month for celeriac in Europe.

Celeriac may appear as an ugly, uninteresting, knobbly root but don’t be fooled – it’s brimming with nutrients and adds delicate flavour and subtle texture to autumn dishes.

Celeriac is derived from wild celery, which has a small, edible root and has been used in Europe since ancient times.

It’s mentioned in Homer's Odyssey as selinon.

It’s unclear when celeriac was first cultivated but there are references to it dating back to the seventeenth century.

Its flesh is crispy when raw and smooth when cooked and has a delicate taste which suggests the flavours of celery and parsley with a slight nuttiness.

I love one pot lunches, so created this Tuscan-style satisfying and nutritious soup with celeriac combined with chick peas (garbanzo beans), winter squash and cabbage, flavoured with fennel seeds.

This dish provides 10 per cent of your daily protein needs but only 5 per cent of daily calorie needs. It's very high in dietary fibre and also contains substantial amounts of vitamins A, C, B1, B6 and folate and the minerals potassium, copper, manganese and iodine (the iodine comes from the vegetable stock which included the sea vegetable kombu). 

For more detailed information please read my article on the health benefits of celery and celeriac.

You can also try celeriac mashed with potatoes and garlic or in the French favourite Celeri Rémoulade, which is basically grated celeriac in mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice and seasonings.

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil or 2 tbsp water
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 2 small red onions, peeled and diced
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• ½ medium-sized celeriac (approx. 375g/13oz), peeled and cut into small (1cm/⅓”) chunks
• ½ small winter squash (270g/9½oz), peeled and cut into small (1cm/⅓”) chunks
• 400g/14oz can (240g/8oz drained weight) cooked chickpeas
• 750ml/1½ pints vegetable stock (see instructions below)*
• 1 tsp sweet white miso (diluted in a little water)
• 250g/8oz savoy cabbage, washed and finely shredded

Method

Heat oil or water in a thick-based pan with a pinch of sea salt, add onions and fennel seed and sweat gently until onion is soft and translucent.

Add chickpeas (garbanzo beans), celeriac, squash and vegetable stock* and simmer gently for 20-30 minutes until vegetables are soft.

Season with diluted miso, adding a little at a time until you’ve achieved the desired taste.

Right at the end, add the shredded savoy cabbage and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve in a bowl with a crusty roll or sprouted bread.

You can also make this one-pot lunch soup in a slow cooker. 

Just put onions, fennel seeds, chickpeas (garbanzo beans), celeriac, squash, and vegetable stock in a slow cooker and leave on a medium setting for 1-2 hours, or on a low setting for 5-6 hours. Season with miso to taste at the end. Lightly steam the shredded cabbage and mix into the soup just before serving.

To make your own vegetable stock

Ingredients

• 2 leeks
• 3 carrots
• Outside cabbage leaves
• 4 sticks celery
• Mushroom stalks
• Pea pods if available
• Large handful of assorted herbs, e.g., basil, marjoram, lovage, parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 strip dried kombu sea vegetable
• ½ tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 litres/3½ pints water

Method

Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 1 hour.

Strain and discard vegetables.

Return liquid to pan and reduce to desired strength.

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Nutrition information

Courgette (zucchini) and tofu fritters with avocado, cashew and lime dip

“Westley shrugged. "Welcome to the middle of nowhere. I'm more likely to come home to find someone's left a pie on my counter than to find my television's missing. Although—" He winced.

"What?" Jaylen looked ready to fight whatever threat had made its way into Westley's home.

"Last year the zucchini crop was really good and somebody left three bushels in my kitchen."

"Oh." Jaylen deflated. So there was an enemy he wasn't a match for.

"There's still zucchini bread in the freezer," Westley offered. "If you're hungry.” 

- Ryan Loveless, Wolf Hunter

So what on earth can you do with all those courgettes/zucchinis?

Fear not. 

Here's a real crowd-pleasing recipe, with plenty of scope for modification. 

Courgette (zucchini) and tofu fritters with a creamy avocado, cashew and lime dip are tasty and satisfying and ideal for summer picnics, packed lunches, snacks and to serve as a main meal with a green salad. 

Recipes

Avocado, cashew and lime dip

Ingredients

• ½ cup cashews

• 1 small avocado

• Juice of ½ small lime

• Small pinch of salt if required

Method

1. Soak cashew nuts in water for 1-2 hours. While the cashews are soaking, prepare the courgette (zucchini) fritters following the instructions below.

2. When the cashews have finished soaking, drain them. Cut avocado in half, remove the stone, scoop out flesh and blend with cashews, adding lime juice and salt to taste

Courgette (zucchini) and tofu fritters

Ingredients

• 2 medium courgettes (zucchini) 

• 1 small white onion (grated) or 3 spring onions (scallions) (finely chopped)

• 2-3 small new potatoes

• ½ tsp salt

• 60g/3oz firm tofu

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• 1 tsp ground paprika

• 1 tsp lime zest

• 1-2 tbsp fresh lime juice

• 1 tsp apple juice concentrate

• 1 tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 2 tbsp warm water – this acts as a binding agent instead of using egg. You could also use 1 tbsp chia seeds + 3 tbsp water.

• 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

• 3-4 tbsp chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour (you can use regular wheat flour)

Method

1. Grate courgettes (zucchini) and onion into a bowl (or add chopped spring onions (scallions)

2. Peel potatoes and grate into bowl with courgettes (zucchini) and onion

3. Sprinkle grated vegetables with salt and allow to sit for 30 minutes to draw out the juices. Squeeze out excess liquid with your hands and put mixture in a bowl

4. Grate tofu into the bowl with the grated courgettes (zucchini), potatoes and onion

5. Add ground cumin, ground coriander and ground paprika, lime zest, lime juice, apple juice concentrate and fresh coriander

6. Carefully fold in ground flax seed and water mixture and the flour

7. Shape into small flat rounds and gently pan-fry in a good quality oil that won’t burn. I used rice bran oil; olive oil would be fine.

8. Finish making the avocado dip (see above)

Garnish with fresh herbs and serve with the avocado, cashew and lime dip and a green salad 

Nutritional information

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