Creamy Vegan Root Vegetable Soup, Root Veggies and September Miles

I can’t think of anything better to celebrate fall and our epic fall running temps, than this very creamy but vegan root vegetable soup. Every month I am the lucky recipient of a box of goodies from azurestandard.

This month I received some beautiful root veggies! In this soup I used a very small potato to give the soup a perfectly luscious texture. I also used my celeriac root, rutabaga, one large leek, a sweet yellow onion, plus some left over roasted squash, which was an after thought. If you don’t have any, feel free to leave it out. It’s delicious either way.

While the soup comes out very creamy, it is actually vegan. By adding a small amount of potato to the base, the soup will have a velvet-like softness post purée. If you have pureed potatoes before, you may discover the end result is a gluey gummy mess. The trick is you don’t need very much potato. The small amount binds everything together into a soup that’s filling enough to serve as a satisfying meal on its own, perhaps with a salad and a slice of sourdough bread?.

What I love most about this recipe, is you can make this year round but interchange the veggies based on what is in season. In the summer, my favorite combo is eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes, all cooked with that little bit of potato, and fresh basil of course, and then purred.

I especially love how flexible this soup is and to be perfectly honest, fall is my favorite because I love root veggies. Feel free to use pumpkin or squash, parsnips, turnips, or Jerusalem artichokes instead of celery root and rutabaga.

We’ve also had the most incredible fall weather. Our mornings are cool making it perfect running weather but by afternoon, we have almost summer temps. The colors have been stunning. I can’t remember when the last time we had such a beautiful and colorful fall!

By evening it’s cools off enough to make for dang good cozy soup season. If you make this soup, be sure to tag me and let me know your favorite combo of root veggies.

CREAMY VEGAN FALL ROOT VEGETABLE SOUP

Ingredients:

• ¹/₄ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons for drizzling
• 1 small onion, peeled and minced
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 large leek, trimmed, cleaned, and finely sliced
• Salt and pepper, for seasoning
• 1 medium-sized potato (any kind will do), peeled and diced
• 2 ¹/₂ cups water or vegetable broth, divided
• 1 large celeriac root (about 2 1/2 pounds), peeled and diced (or swap in another root vegetable)
• 1 large rutabaga (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and diced (or swap in another root vegetable)
• Optional garnishes, listed in step 5 below

Directions:

1. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, like a Dutch oven, heat the oil gently. Add onions, garlic, leeks, and a pinch of salt and sauté gently until the alliums are soft and translucent. (Feel free to use your IP and the sauté setting here.)
2. Add the diced potato and enough water to cover the potatoes, about 1/2 cup. Add another pinch of salt and simmer for about 10 minutes. (Use sauté function)
3. Now add the celery root and turnip and add just enough of the remaining water or broth to cover the vegetables. Add a pinch of salt and simmer until all the vegetables are cooked through and tender. (Or set IP to 25 minutes on manual)
4. Remove from the heat and purée: in a food processor, a blender, or with an immersion blender. Purée until really smooth and not chunky at all. Taste for seasoning.
5. Eat with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of herbs or any other garnishes you like: crispy sage leaves are nice, finely diced shallot or chives; a dollop of dairy free sour cream, Greek yogurt, or crème fraîche in place of the olive oil; a little grated Parmigiana cheese or any hard aged grated cheese; a sprinkling of freshly ground pepper.

What is your favorite season?

Do you track the number of miles you run each week or month?

What is your favorite root veggie?

I love celeriac root, but they are all so yummy!