Celery Soup

This is a wonderfully simple little soup - barely any ingredients and barely any cooking time, but it's very tasty and soothing, and you could easily convince guests you've spent hours making it.

I feel as though celery has lost its spark a bit recently. Ever since the whole 'negative calories' thing made it into public knowledge, it seems to me as though celery has turned into something you nibble on when you're hungry and dieting. Hopefully, if you try this recipe, you'll see celery as the delicious star ingredient it should be.

I've (naturally) added a splash of double cream and a sprinking of blue cheese to this recipe - you could easily leave these elements out and it would still be almost as tasty.

This will make enough soup for 4 and will be ready in 30 minutes max. Serve with doorstops of bread for dipping and mopping.

Celery Soup
1 tbsp olive oil
2 onions
450g celery
1 litre vegetable stock
Large handful of chopped parsley
20ml double cream (for serving)
20g blue cheese (for serving)

1. Roughly chop the onions and add to a large casserole dish with the olive oil. Sweat over a medium heat for a couple of minutes.
2. Chop the celery, discarding the tips and base, and add to the dish. Stir and cook for another 2 minutes.
3. Pour in the stock, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the celery is soft.
4. Turn off the heat and stir in the parsley. Blitz the soup with a food processor until smooth, then taste and season with salt and pepper.
5. To serve, drizzle each bowl of soup with a swirl of double cream and a crumble of blue cheese. Yum!