Celeriac vegetable soup (best soup ever!)

When food starts to go gross, I make soup out of the food before it’s too late. I did that today and struck jackpot. This is the best vegetable soup I’ve ever made! I think the secret is celeriac and the cayenne pepper, which give this soup a peperish, warmish feel without being overpowering.

Ingredients | makes 3.5 L

For frying:

3 spring onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 stick of celery
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp of Nuttalex

The rest:

1/3 jap (kent) pumpkin
3 medium carrots
1 turnip
1 parsnip
1/2 celeriac
1 1/2 cups of red lentils
small handful of continental parsley (I used about five sprigs)
Table salt to taste
Cracked pepper to taste

Method

Finely chop the spring onions, garlic and celery (you can crush the garlic if it’s easier).
If you’re like me and you’re food is going gross, cut any gross bits off the vegetables (pumpkin, carrots, turnip, parsnip and celeriac), rinse in water and give it a sniff test. Remove the skin from the pumpkin and celeriac. Cut everything else into big chunks.
Heat up the Nuttalex in a large pot and when half the butter is melted (left, add the cayenne pepper. Mix the spices and Nuttalex. When the cayenne pepper starts to bubble and become aromatic (watch out this happens fast!), add the spring onions, garlic and celery. Mix to coat the diced vegetables. Stir until they become soft.
Add the pumpkin, carrots, turnip, parsnip and celeriac.
Add water to cover most of the vegetables (if you add too much don’ t worry you can boil it down later).
Add the red lentils and mix.
Add the parsley and push gently down into the pot – don’t mix, as the parsley will be removed later.
Put the lid on and bring the pot to a boil. When boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes.
After 40 minutes, remove the parsley and mash the soft vegetables in the pot.
Add table salt (use a fine salt so it dissolves in the soup) to taste. I pour a bit in at a time, stir and taste. I guess I added about 1-2 tablespoons.
Add some cracked pepper to taste and stir in.