Because the flavour of celery and celeriac are so similar, they combine perfectly when cooked together and turned into a very satisfying winter soup, that is so easy to make it can be cooked in less than half an hour.

Many people shun celeriac as it is such an ugly vegetable and the skin is so thick it is difficult to peel. But with a sharp knife and patience this job can be completed quite easily. Try cutting the celeriac in half and then quarters, before peeling. This works well for me, despite having arthritic hands.

YOU WILL NEED One small celeriac root One head of celery One medium floury potato 1¼ pints (1 litre) vegetable or chicken stock 1 tbspn sunflower oil 1oz (25g) butter Four rashers of streaky bacon for garnish Salt and freshly-ground black peppercorns to season.

METHOD Peel the celeriac and potato and rough chop. Rough chop the celery too.

Heat together the oil and the butter, and add celeriac, potato and celery and cook together for a few moments.

Add about three tablespoons of water to the mix and leave to cook gently with a lid on the pan, stirring every so often until the vegetables are soft enough to pureé.

Remove from the heat, allow to cool a little, then zap in a food processor to produce a pureé.

Return the mix to the saucepan, add the stock, stir and season.

Simmer for about 15 minutes, adjust seasoning and serve garnished with the bacon, grilled until crisp and then chopped.