Celery Soup

Next growing season, I am definitely going  to try sticking the root end of a bunch of celery into the ground to get it to grow.  My mom did it this year and ended up with this (seems a lot easier than starting from a little seedling).  Very cool!

Somehow I ended up with way too much celery in the fridge and this is an easy and tasty way to use it up.  It can even be a bit limp; no concerns about texture here.

I had intended to use some buttermilk in the recipe but it came out creamy enough and I forgot all about it.  It does not need to be strained, but it makes it a little more velvety smooth than just whizzing it with a blender.

The parmesan rind is optional.  You know when you get near the end of a piece of parmesan cheese and it's too small to grate but you don't want to waste it?  Drop it into a pot of soup and the cheese will melt off then just pull the rind out at the end.






Ingredients:
1 thick slice pancetta, diced
1 1/2 cups onion, chopped
4 cups celery, chopped
2-3 cups stock
Celery salt
3-4 cups spinach and arugula and parsley
Lemon juice
Parmesan rind (optional)





Heat a medium sized pot and add the pancetta. When cooked partway, use a paper towel or other method to remove some of the fat, leaving just enough to saute the onions.  Add the onions and saute until softened, about 7-8 minutes (and the pancetta should be crisp by then).

Add the celery and 2 cups of stock.  Cook until celery is tender.

Season with some celery salt for taste.  Add the greens and cook for another few minutes.






Strain through a sieve and return soup to pot.  Bring back to a simmer then add the juice of 1 lemon.  If you prefer a thinner consistency, add more stock (or some buttermilk) and cook another few minutes.

Serve with a crostini dropped in the bottom of the bowl topped with blue cheese (the blue cheese is just as delicious with this soup as with the broccoli soup I made a while back).