Celery, whether in soups, vegetable trays, topped with almond butter and raisins or added to a dish, most of us have eaten celery in one way, shape or form.
Celery is not just to be added to soups just like onion and leeks but celery can be the star of the soup also.
Taste the raw celery you plan to use in this soup. The celery should be fresh and good on its own, not old or bitter. If you have a particularly tough or bitter bunch of celery, don’t use it in your soup. The flavour of our vegetables will dictate the taste of any dish.
Health Benefits of Celery
Every part of celery, including the stalks, seeds, and leaves are edible and are rich in nutrients. Celery leaves are often added to soups and stir-fries.
Recent research has greatly bolstered our knowledge about celery’s anti-inflammatory health benefits, including its protection against inflammation in the digestive tract itself. Some of the unique non-starch polysaccharides in celery—including apiuman—appear especially important in producing these anti-inflammatory benefits. Special compounds help celery act as a diuretic and reduce bloating.
Purchase Organic Celery
Knowing that celery is one of the most chemical-sprayed vegetables there is, always look for organic celery whenever possible to get the most benefits of celery without consuming toxins and chemicals. The Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” shows that celery is usually sprayed with multiple types of pesticides.
When making Celery Soup don’t forget to use the leaves also – but put some aside to garnish your soup afterwards.
If you want a lovely green soup but do not have any celery on hand you can replace the celery with frozen organic peas.
There are endless soup recipes and soup is so easy to make with the basic ingredients of onions or leaks and chicken or vegetable stalk. With a bit of salt and pepper and your favourite vegetables or any vegetables you may have in your kitchen – voila – homemade soup!!
Cream of Celery Soup
Print RecipeIngredients
- • 3 Tbsp butter, divided into 2 Tbsp and 1 Tbsp
- • 1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
- • 1 1/2 cups sliced leeks, white and light green parts only (3)
- • 5 cups of chopped organic celery, and 1 1/2 cups of diced celery (from one large bunch of celery or two small bunches) (2 large bunches)
- • 2 cloves garlic, minced - optional
- • 2 bay leaves - optional
- • 4 cups organic chicken stock
- • 1/2 teaspoon to 1 1/2 teaspoons of Himalayan salt, to taste
- • 1/4 to 1/3 cup of organic coconut milk form a tin
- • Freshly ground organic black pepper to taste
- • Fresh celery leaves, chopped chives or parsley for garnish
Instructions
Melt 2 Tbsp organic butter or ghee in a thick-bottomed 4 to 5 quart pot on medium heat. Add the diced onion and leeks.
Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes until softened. Add the minced garlic and cook for a minute more.
Add the chicken stock, 5 cups of chopped celery and bay leaves to the pot. Taste for salt and add salt. (If you are using unsalted butter and unsalted stock, you will need to add more salt than you expect, if not, maybe just a little salt will be needed.)
Increase heat to bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover to maintain a simmer for15 minutes.
While the soup is simmering, prepare the extra 1 1/2 cups of celery that will be added later to the soup. You can stir it in or use it as a garnish. In a separate small sauté pan, melt 1 Tbsp of butter on medium heat. Add 1 1/2 cups diced celery to the butter.
Ladle 1/2 cup of the simmering stock from the soup pot into the sauté pan. Simmer on low for 5 or 6 minutes to soften the celery a bit. Set aside.
Purée soup:
Remove the soup pot from heat, let cool slightly. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
Stir in the coconut milk then working in batches, purée the soup in a blender or hand blender. If using a blender fill the blender no more than a third full at a time. Remove part of the lid and cover this hole with a face cloth or kitchen towel. This will allow the the hot steam to escape as your blend. Pour blended patches of soup into another pot to keep warm.
Additional cooked celery.
You can stir this celery into you soup and or reserve a bit to add as a topping with some of the toppings below.
Taste for salt and add more if needed.
Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and chopped chives, cooked celery, celery leaves or parsley to serve.
Notes
Salt Personally, I love the flavour of Himalayan Salt. Your daily requirement of salt is 1500 - 2400 mg. per day (3/4 tsp. - 1 tsp.) depending on your age, activity level and overall health. It is important to begin reading food labels and you may be shocked at the amount of sodium added to tinned soups. This alone is a wonderful reason to begin making your own soups. The Heart Association recommends that people should consume no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium a day. The healthiest soups contain 360 – 600 milligrams of sodium per serving, but one cup of canned soup can contain 800+ or more milligrams of sodium!
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