Leek and Celery Root Soup

This leek and celery root soup makes an excellent dinner party or cocktail party appetizer. Who doesn't love a sip of hot soup on a cold winter evening.

Greet your guests with a tray of these little two ounce sips of hot leek and celery root soup to warm them up. These little soups would be such a nice surprise, wouldn't they?

This soup is so refined and elegant and would make a wonderful first impression to welcome guests to your gathering. 

Plus, the soup is easy to make with very little prep, and lends itself well for making one to two days in advance. 

If we weren't trying to be elegant, we could call these leek and celery root shooters! 

Ingredients in this Soup:

Butter - You can use salted or unsalted and adjust the salt to taste.

Leeks - Use the white and light green parts. If you're not familiar with them, they are part of the onion family and look like really, really fat green onions. 

Yellow or Brown Onion

Soup Base - I used some salt as well as some Chicken Better Than Bouillon. You can skip the soup base or use the vegetable base and you will still have a delicious soup. 

Celery Root - Also known as celeriac. It's a gnarly looking big bulb that is more plentiful in winter. If you can't find it, you can substitute a big turnip, daikon radish, or jicama, each with a pinch of celery seeds. You can also throw in some parsley with the substitute ingredients to help replicate the celery root flavor.

Crème Fraiche - For garnish. 

Chopped Chives - Also for garnish. 

You can serve these little soups in a glass for sipping, or with a spoon if you prefer. If you have the cups that come with a punch bowl, they would be perfect. 

I had these amuse bouche glasses I picked up at Home Goods that also worked well for serving this soup as an appetizer. 

Leeks are so delicious in soup. They are wonderful paired with potatoes for a humble Irish potato leek soup, as well as chunky vegetable soups. 

What to serve with this leek and celery root soup? 

Champagne of course! Plus lots of savory nibbles such as Cheddar and Pecan Crisps or Sourdough Crackers. 

This month, the Soup Saturday Swappers are posting recipes for elegant soups. Our host is Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm. 

Be sure to check out everyone's "elegant" soups. 

• Sneha’s Recipe: Cheeseburger Soup for One 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Creamy Leek Soup with Shoestring Potatoes 
• Making Miracles: French Onion Potato Soup 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Leek and Celery Root Soup 
• Pandemonium Noshery: Pear and Blue Cheese Soup 
• Palatable Pastime: Shrimp in Tomato Saffron Broth

This recipe was inspired by Fine Cooking Appetizers, published in 2009.