Cream of Celery Soup

 

As a kid, my favorite canned soup was cream of celery, and I haven’t had it in years. I wanted to take advantage of the cooler weather and make a batch of this easy cream of celery soup recipe I found on Simply Recipes. We all LOVED how this soup tasted, especially my son, who said it soothed his sore throat. I have a feeling this one will be a regular in my house during cold and flu season. This creamy, healthy cream of celery soup paired nicely with some crusty bread and a loaded Caesar salad.

Cream of Celery Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp butter, divided
• 5½ cups celery, chopped + 1 cup celery, finely diced (1 large bunch)
• 1 ½ cups leeks, sliced, white and light green parts only
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

How to Make Cream of Celery Soup:

Prepare the celery soup by melting 2 tablespoons butter in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 5 cups of celery, leek, and onion to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.

Add the chicken broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until tender.

Braise the remaining celery by melting the last tablespoon of butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the finely diced celery and cook, stirring often, for 1 minute.

Add ½ cup of the soup liquid to the pan to braise the celery while the soup simmers. Reduce the heat to a simmer.

Blend the soup when the veggies are very tender.

Remove and discard the bay leaves, then blend it in batches with a very high-powered blender or immersion blender until smooth and creamy.

Add the cream and taste. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste.

Stir in the braised celery.

Ladle into bowls and serve immediately. Enjoy.