Cream Of Celery Soup

I am not a celery lover. I heard of celery soup the other day and gagged a little. So I decided to overcome my celery soup fear and make my own. It's now one of my favorites! I guess you never know until you try.

You will need a food processor

Ingredients:

2 TBSP olive oil

1 1/2 bunches celery

1 large russet or red potato - pealed and chopped into small chunks

1/2 large yellow onion - chopped

2 tsp celery seed

4 cups chicken broth (or 4 cups hot water with 4-5 dissolved chicken bullion cubes)

2 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp celery salt

2 TBSP butter

3 TBSP flour

1/2 cup milk

*crispy bacon pieces (optional)

In a large stock pot heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the celery, onion and celery seed - saute about 7-10 minutes, until onion becomes tender. Add chicken stock and potato. Boil until all veggies are very tender. Transfer one third at a time to a food processor and pulse until creamy. Return to low heat and add white pepper and celery salt. 

In a separate small pot melt butter. Stir in the flour to create a paste, then add the milk. Heat until thick and slowly stir into prepared soup. 

Serve topped with crispy bacon pieces and fresh chopped parsley.

**Allergy-free substitutions:

Butter - smart balance

Flour - Gluten free all purpose flour

Milk - So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut milk

To cut down on sodium omit the celery salt and use low sodium chicken stock - or half stock and half water.