Fenland Celery Soup

Serves	4
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	50 minutes
Total time	1 hour
Allergy	Milk
Dietary	Vegetarian
Meal type	Lunch, Snack, Soup, Starter
Misc	Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Hot
Occasion	Christmas, Easter, Formal Party, Valentines day
Region	British
By author	The Complete Farmhouse Cook Book

This velvety soup is like a bowl of celery essence and makes a fabulous dinner party dish for the soup course, as well as a hearty and warming soup for a family supper, when served with crusty bread and butter. Fenland celery, which is grown in the Fenlands of East Anglia, has a short season, from October to January; if you can get hold of it, do use it in this soup, as it has a sweet almost nutty flavour and is almost pure white. (I managed to get hold of two heads a month ago and it has kept very well in the garden shed, but, now is the time to use it!)

Ingredients

1 medium head of Fenland or British Celery (trimmed and the branches finely chopped)
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
40g butter (I use salted butter)
750mls vegetable stock (I use Marigold Swiss vegetable bouillon powder)
1/2 pint of milk
1/4 teaspoon celery seeds
celery salt
white pepper
some celery leaves, trimmed form the celery branches (for a garnish)

Note

This velvety soup is like a bowl of celery essence and makes a fabulous dinner party dish for the soup course, as well as a hearty and warming soup for a family supper, when served with crusty bread and butter. Fenland celery, which is grown in the Fenlands of East Anglia, has a short season, from October to January; if you can get hold of it, do use it in this soup, as it has a sweet almost nutty flavour and is almost pure white. (I managed to get hold of two heads a month ago and it has kept very well in the garden shed, but, now is the time to use it!) It is also wonderful when served with a British cheeseboard, or in salads.

Directions

Step 1	Chop the celery, leaving a few leaves for a garnish. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the chopped celery to the pan along with the chopped onions. Stir well and then cover saucepan and cook for about 15 minutes. Add the stock with the celery seeds and some celery salt (to taste).
Step 2	Bring the soup up to a simmer, cover the saucepan with a lid and cook very gently for 20 to 25 minutes or until the vegetables are really tender. Purée the soup in a blender or with a hand-held immersion blender, return the blended soup to the pan and then stir in the milk. (you can leave some of the celery pieces whole if you prefer a chunkier textured soup)
Step 3	Bring the soup up to the boil before turning the heat right down, adjust the seasoning if necessary and then chop the reserved celery leaves and stir them into the soup as a garnish.