A Tale of Two Soups

Celery & Blue Cheese Soup with Buffalo Hot Sauce

The majority of time a recipe calls for celery I find I need one stalk and that's all so I'm left with the rest of it wondering what to do. Try as I might to make myself healthy snacks of celery sticks it just doesn't happen, so instead I decided to put the celery to good use and make a creamy celery soup. All I can say is that I wish I had come up with this earlier! The soup is creamy and rich with a delicious taste of celery that isn't too overpowering.

So as I relaxed and enjoyed a steaming hot bowl of my delicious creamy celery soup I stopped to think about when I actually ever do eat celery and realised that the only time I really enjoy eating raw celery is when it's served right alongside a big plate of hot and spicy Buffalo chicken wings with a rich and creamy blue cheese dip on the side (yum!), which got me thinking.....what about adding some blue cheese to my soup and perhaps a drizzle of Buffalo hot sauce?!?! And that was that... Celery and Blue Cheese Soup with Buffalo Hot Sauce was created!

So there you have it, celery soup two ways and both equally delicious! So good in fact that now I buy a head of celery especially to make these soups and just hold back a stalk of two for that inevitable recipe.

Creamy Celery Soup

If you have a head of celery for this soup by all mean use it all, however if like me you are always left with most but not all of the celery just use what you have – the amounts can vary a bit and still taste delicious.

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1 leek, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 head of celery (approx.10-12 celery stalks ), sliced (leaves reserved)

1 medium sized potato, peeled and cut into cubes

1 litre/ 1000ml vegetable stock

Salt & pepper

125ml cream

Yellow celery leaves (from the middle), finely chopped

Extra virgin olive oil (optional)

Melt the butter with the oil in a large pan until sizzling then add the onion and leek. Cook for 5 minutes until they have started to soften before adding the garlic, celery and potato. Cover with a tight-fitting lid then leave to cook for 10 minutes over a low heat before adding the stock and some salt and pepper. Put the lid back on the pan and leave to simmer away for 20 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat and allow to cool before blending until completely smooth. Return the soup to the pan and add the cream then gently reheat. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary then serve garnished with the celery leaves and if you want a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Celery & Blue Cheese Soup with Buffalo Hot Sauce

The drizzle of buffalo hot sauce as part of the garnish is optional but adds a delicious hot and spicy twang to the soup! If you really want to go all out shred up some cooked chicken then toss with the hot sauce and serve as an extra garnish on the soup. A little different but tasty and fun!

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1 leek, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 head of celery (approx.10-12 celery stalks ), sliced (leaves reserved)

1 medium sized potato, peeled and cut into cubes

1 litre/ 1000ml vegetable stock

Salt & pepper

75g blue cheese, plus extra for garnish

60ml cream

Yellow celery leaves, finely chopped

Buffalo Wing Hot Sauce (Optional)

Melt the butter with the oil in a large pan until sizzling then add the onion and leek. Cook for 5 minutes until they have started to soften before adding the garlic, celery and potato. Cover with a tight-fitting lid then leave to cook for 10 minutes over a low heat before adding the stock and some salt and pepper. Put the lid back on the pan and leave to simmer away for 15-20 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat and allow to cool before blending until completely smooth. Return the soup to the pan and add the blue cheese, cream and celery leaves then gently reheat. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary then serve garnished with the extra blue cheese and a drizzle of the hot sauce if using.