Creamy Cele­ri­ac Soup with Champagne

Creamy Cele­ri­ac Soup with Champagne
(serves 4)

2 tbsps butter
1 cele­ri­ac root, peeled and cubed
3 cloves gar­lic, smashed
1 banana shal­lot, cut in chunks
pinch dried thyme or the leaves of sev­er­al stalks of fresh thyme
good splash champagne
chick­en or veg­etable stock to cover
1/2 cup whip­ping cream
sea salt and fresh ground pep­per to taste

Melt the but­ter in a heavy saucepan and saute the cele­ri­ac, gar­lic, shal­lots and thyme till the gar­lic is slight­ly soft.  Pour in the cham­pagne and sim­mer for a minute or two.  Cov­er the veg­eta­bles with stock and sim­mer for about 20 min­utes or until you can pierce the cele­ri­ac eas­i­ly with a knife.  Puree with a hand blender and add cream.  Sea­son to taste.