LUCY BURDETTE: I’ve always loved celery soup, even as a kid when it came as glop from a can. So when I saw a recipe in the New York Times cooking section for fresh celery soup, I couldn’t resist trying a version of theirs. The only disadvantage is that it does dirty up several appliances in the making. But it was worth it to use the blender to get the creamy texture at the end. And it's green for St. Patrick's Day!
Ingredients
One or 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the same of butter.
Two leeks
Three garlic cloves
One head celery
One large russet potato
Three bay leaves
A splash of wine, white or rosé
5 cups chicken broth
One cup water
Several sprigs fresh oregano
1 cup parsley leaves
Clean the leeks well, peeling off the outside layers and slicing finely. Slice the garlic cloves. Melt the butter with the oil and sauté the leeks and garlic on low heat until they are soft.
Meanwhile, use your food processor to slice the celery. Peel the potato and cut it into chunks. Add these vegetables to the leek-garlic mixture along with the bay leaves, and the oregano. Sauté another 5 to 7 minutes until those vegetables are softening. Add a splash of wine and cook that down.
Add the chicken stock and simmer everything for 20 minutes until the veggies are soft. Add the parsley leaves at this point, and remove the bay leaves, then set this aside to cool.
Blend all the vegetables with stock to a creamy texture and taste for seasoning with salt and pepper. I thought I might need to add a splash of milk or cream or cheese, but it was really delicious as is. I served this with green goddess biscuits, so it was a very green meal, perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!
Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mysteries. A DISH TO DIE FOR has just been awarded the Florida Book Awards bronze medal for popular fiction!
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