You’ll be surprised how appealing homemade cream of celery soup is! Prepare this recipe for a celery soup with onions, garlic, leeks, broth and some cream.
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Time to snuggle up under a cozy blanket and enjoy a warm soup. This week’s election? A classic cream of celery soup.
Why celery makes such a great soup
Like kale, celery is an often-neglected vegetable, prized for its place in a mirepoix but rarely the star of the show. Which is silly when you think about it, given how good celery is in soups. (Can you imagine chicken soup without it?)
Celery soup with a supportive blend of onions, leeks and a little cream is absolutely delicious and the perfect way to warm up on a chilly day.
How to buy and store celery
Choose celery without discoloration, with firm, crisp stalks that are easy to break when snapped. If the stems are rubbery or fall apart easily, it’s not fresh. The leaves should be bright green and not wilted.
To store, remove the celery from the plastic wrap and wrap the entire bunch tightly in foil. Place in the fresh food drawer of the refrigerator.
Swap ingredients for celery soup
- No leek? Increase the onion.
- No dairy? Boil a small peeled, diced potato with the soup, which will add a creamy texture after mashing. (You may need to add a little more broth as you puree the soup.)
- Replace chicken broth with vegetable broth.
- Add some chopped celery leaves in step 2 to enhance the celery flavor.
- Add chopped ginger.
- Replace the freshly ground black pepper with white pepper.
How to save and reheat this recipe
Refrigerate Store leftover soup in a tightly sealed container for three to four days. Stir to combine any ingredients that have separated and heat over medium-high heat until bubbly, but not boiling.
Freeze Store leftover soup in a freezer-safe zip-lock bag or container for up to three months. After three months, the soup is still safe to eat straight from the freezer, but its flavor is starting to fade. Thaw in the fridge. Stir to combine any ingredients that have separated and heat over medium-high heat until bubbly, but not boiling.
More celery recipes to make
- Waldorf Salad
- Damn Marie smoothie
- Celery Pan
- Celery, blue cheese and hazelnut salad
- Sliced Vegetable Salad
From the editors of Simply Recipes
Cream Celery Soup
Try the raw celery you plan to use in this soup. The celery should be fresh and good on its own, not stale or bitter. If you have a particularly tough or bitter celery, please do not use it in this soup. Find another use for it.
ingredients
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3 tablespoon butterdivided
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1 Cup chopped Onion
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1 1/2 cups sliced leekonly white and light green parts
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1 big pile or 2 small bundles celerychopped, shared
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2 cloves garlicchopped
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4 cups chicken broth
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2 bay leaves
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1/2 to 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher Salttaste
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1/4 to 1/3 Cup cream
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Fresh ground black pepper, taste
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Freshly chopped chives or Parsely, for garnish
method
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Sweat the onions, leeks and celery:
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a 4 to 5 quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion, leeks and 5 cups of chopped celery.
Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat until tender. Add the chopped garlic and cook for another minute.
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Add broth, bay leaves and salt and let simmer:
Add the chicken broth and bay leaves to the saucepan. Taste for salt and add salt.
(If you’re using unsalted butter and broth, you’ll need to add more salt than you expect. If not, maybe just a little salt is needed.)
Increase the heat to bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and cover to continue simmering. Simmer for 15 minutes.
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Braise the remaining celery to soften it:
While the soup is simmering, prepare the extra celery that will be added to the soup later. In a separate small skillet, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 cups diced celery to the butter.
Scoop 1/2 cup of the simmering broth from the stockpot into the skillet. Simmer on low for 5 or 6 minutes to soften the celery. Put aside.
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Puree soup:
Take the soup pot off the stove and let it cool down a bit. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
Puree the soup with a hand blender.
If you don’t have an immersion blender, gently puree the soup in batches in a blender. Fill the blender no more than 1/3 full at a time (keep your hand on the lid so the hot liquid doesn’t explode). Pour the pureed soup back into the pot.
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Stir in the cream and braised celery cubes:
Taste for salt and add more if necessary. Serve hot, sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and garnish with chopped chives or parsley.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 231 | calories |
| 15g | Fat |
| 18g | carbohydrates |
| 7g | protein |
