Cream of celery soup – with a twist – served with homemade croutons

What to make with a bunch of celery? Celery is great to use in the base of your Bolognese, casseroles, vegetable pasties, minestrone or in my chicken stock. So many ideas but I want to do something different! When I went to the supermarket last week, bunches of celery were on special so I just had to get some for the value, but I only needed a stick of celery for the salad I was making.

So much celery!! Help!! I need ideas! You know what time it is – searching the worldwide web time 😉 If anyone has any other great ideas for celery I’d love to hear from you – love fresh, new ideas.

I came across this creamy celery soup. Hmmmm . . . I’ve never made soup using celery before, I wonder what it will taste like!?! It does sound pretty yummy though! And what could be more perfect for these cold Melbourne nights we’ve been having. Time to try . . .

So here is my cream of celery soup, with a twist, served with homemade croutons. The croutons work best if your loaf of bread is a couple of days old. I had never made croutons from scratch before but now I’ve done them I will definitely be able to do them again! The boys – my husband and his best mate – couldn’t stop eating them by themselves! You could add any herbs to add extra flavour or possibly garlic croutons! I look forward to hearing from all your crouton recipes – love new ideas and inspiration.

Please taste the soup before seasoning. I’m not a big black pepper fan with soups. I let people who are eating the soup add their own seasonings.

INGREDIENTS:
Cream of celery soup:
1 bunch celery, roughly chopped
1 brown onion, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, smashed
½ tablespoon butter
½ tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chicken stock
1 can (400ml) coconut cream
Handful fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Homemade croutons:
1 loaf of sour dough bread (or any loaf of bread that’s 2-3 days old), crusts removed and cut into 2-3cm cubes
Olive oil

METHOD:
Cream of celery soup:
In a large saucepan on a low to medium heat, add the butter and oil with the onion, garlic and celery. Stir until the celery and onion are well coated with the butter/oil and place the lid on top. Cook for 12-15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes.

When the celery is softened – you can check the celery by sticking it with a sharp knife. If the celery doesn’t stay on the knife, it’s ready. Add the chicken stock and simmer on low heat for another 15-20 minutes.

Turn the heat off and allow to cool. Once cooled add the parsley and coconut cream then blitz with a handheld/stick blender.

Season with salt and pepper.

Reheat and serve with homemade croutons.

Homemade croutons:
In a large frypan on a medium heat, add oil until hot. To check the heat, add a small breadcrumb to the oil. When sizzling constantly, add bread cubes and stir immediately to coat with the oil. Add more oil if needed – this helps to give the croutons the crispiness and golden colour.

Fry for 5-10 minutes or until golden on all edges of the bread.

Serve immediately on top of your soup.

Enjoy this beautiful soup!