Description
A comforting and creamy soup featuring tender ham hock, earthy celeriac, crisp apple, and tangy Dijon mustard. Slow-cooked to develop rich flavors, then blended to a smooth finish with crème fraîche, this hearty soup is perfect served with crusty bread and extra ham for dunking.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 1 unsmoked ham hock or gammon knuckle, roughly 1.2kg
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil, plus extra for serving
- 1 large onion, halved and sliced
- 1 eating apple (Braeburn preferred), cored and cut into chunks
- 1 large celeriac, washed and cut into chunks (peeled if very dirty)
- 100g crème fraîche, plus extra for serving
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- Crusty bread, to serve
Instructions
- Cook the Ham Hock: Place the ham hock and bay leaves in a large pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer over low-medium heat for 2 hours until the meat is very tender. Add more water as needed during cooking. Alternatively, use a pressure cooker to cook the ham hock for 30 minutes. Once done, remove the ham, strain the stock into a jug, discard the rind, and shred the meat. Set the shredded meat aside.
- Sauté Onion, Apple, and Celeriac: In the same pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook for 10 minutes until softened. Then add the apple chunks and celeriac pieces.
- Add Stock and Simmer: Taste the ham stock; if very salty, dilute with water to make approximately 1 litre in total. Pour this stock into the pan with the vegetables. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, or until the celeriac is very tender.
- Blend the Soup: Stir in the crème fraîche and Dijon mustard. Use a hand blender to blitz the soup until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Warm the Ham and Serve: Warm the shredded ham hock in a pan or microwave. Serve the soup topped with a swirl of crème fraîche, a drizzle of olive oil, and a pile of warmed ham hock meat. Accompany with crusty bread or a ham and cheese toastie for dipping. Leftover ham hock can be frozen for up to two months.
Notes
- Use a pressure cooker to reduce cooking time to 30 minutes for the ham hock.
- If ham stock is too salty, dilute with water before adding to vegetables.
- The soup can be blended to your preferred consistency – leave a few chunks if you like texture.
- Freeze any leftover stock for use in soups or risottos later.
- Serve with crusty bread or make a ham and cheese toastie to dip.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: British
Keywords: celeriac soup, ham hock soup, creamy soup, mustard soup, British soup, hearty soup, winter soup
