Roasted Celery Soup

I hate wasting food. Like it literally makes my stomach churn if I have to throw away food. I guess it comes from growing up on a tight budget, with a large family and having just enough; and knowing that many others have to get by with very little or not at all and being taught to be grateful for what I have. Or maybe it comes from the fact that I have been blessed with the knowledge of what good food can do for my body and the appreciation of the hard work it takes for food to get from the farm or ranch to the hands that prepare it. Thus I cannot stand letting anything go to waste.

Unfortunately, being a recipe developer, food blogger and cooking instructor my fridge and pantry often has random ingredients shoved in various drawers and compartments.

I realize this is a blessing and an opportunity I am sincerely grateful for, and therefore I do everything in my power not to let anything get wasted. Often this means giving food away or being very creative with leftovers (take these Yellow Squash Dog Biscuits).

Today’s recipe was created, when for some reason I had an enormous amount of celery shoved in my produce bin. I honestly don’t know how it happened but it was way more celery than I knew I could consume as ants on a log or with appropriate amounts of ranch dressing.

So… I searched high and low for the best recipes using the most amount of celery and this soup was high on the list. Luckily, not only did it call for large amounts of celery it was delicious too (so never fear you celery haters)! It is thick and creamy, yet light, with a lovely caramelized flavor, from carefully roasting all those veggies. And while this soup is perfect for using up lingering vegetables, and even though soup season is ending fast, for me this was the perfect soup to welcome spring on a dreary and rainy spring day.

One Year Ago:
Two Years Ago: Grapefruit Margarita
Three Years Ago: Secret Sirloin Steak
Four Years Ago: Gingered Beef Stir-Fry Recipe
Five Years Ago: Guinness Shepherds Pie
Six Years Ago: Butterscotch Sweet Potato Cookie Sandwiches

Roasted Celery Soup
Printable Version 
Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 60 minutes Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
8-10 large celery stalks, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 large yellow onion, cut into 2-inch pieces
½ bulb fresh fennel, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 large whole garlic cloves
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt and pepper, or to taste
3 medium-large Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1½-inch pieces
6 cups vegetable broth
½ cup heavy cream or half and half (omit for lactose free/vegan)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon dried dill weed
½ teaspoon celery salt
Celery leaves and fennel fronds, optional for garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with foil.

Place celery, onion, fennel and garlic in a large bowl. Drizzle vegetable pieces with oil and season with salt and black pepper; toss to coat. Divide oil covered vegetables between foil lined baking sheets and spread into an even layer. Roast in a 400 degree F oven for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the edges of the vegetables begin to brown.

Meanwhile, bring the potatoes and vegetable broth to a boil in a large stock pot. Boil potatoes for 10 to 12 minutes or until potatoes are tender and can be easily pierced with a fork. When the vegetables have finished roasting add them to the potatoes and broth and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat and and cool slightly.

Working in batches, carefully puree soup in a blender. Return soup to the same pot and stir in cream, lemon juice, dried dill weed and celery salt. Bring soup to a simmer and season to taste with additional salt and black pepper, if needed.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls and garnish with celery leaves and fennel fronds

Serving Suggestions: Since this soup is a nice starter or light lunch, try pairing it with this Strawberry Spinach Salad or as a started with this Pan Seared Salmon with Garlic Butter Sauce.

Adapted from Food52

Other recipes you might enjoy:
Vegetable Barley Soup with Chicken Sausage Meatballs
Winter Squash Soup with Gruyère Herb Croutons
Slow Cooker Black-Eyed Pea Soup
Lentil Bean Soup
Green Gruel with Eyeballs (a.k.a Broccoli Cheese Soup with Hard Boiled Eggs)