Spring has finally sprung! The air is warm, raindrops abound on my windows, Passover and Easter are upon us and color is back in my world! It might sound funny but I have always felt like living through the first few months of the year is like living in a black and white movie. The sky and everything around me are various shades of gray. Spring just makes my heart feel lighter.
It has been a while since I tackled my blog, and excited to share something new. It’s easy, made with ingredients usually found in your ‘fridge and perfect to serve this holiday weekend.
My inspiration was pretty simple: I had some celery from a recent catering party and while not that expensive I detest wasting anything – even celery! I also had some leftover buttermilk and a potato on the verge … so I decided to see what I could make of it all.
Earlier this month I had the great good fortune of doing a fun collection of videos with my friend Liz Woods, who has a great blog called Ryemarkable Moms.
We chatted and cooked our way through an afternoon making this easy soup. More on that in a bit … let’s get to the recipe first.
This recipe has five ingredients: celery, potato, onion, garlic and buttermilk. It’s flavored with a favorite pantry ingredient of mine, Better than Bouillon, and fresh thyme. I would wager that you have all of them in your ‘fridge right now, except perhaps the buttermilk. That is easily gotten at the supermarket.
Dig deep down in your crisper bin and look for the celery. If it’s a little limp you can bring it back to life easily. Trim a ¼” from the bottom of the stalk and place it in a container with cool water. The stalk will plump up in no time and be firm and crisp.
Take a few minutes and get everything chopped and measured, that will make it all the faster. Take care to cut your celery and potatoes small, and the same size, that will help things cook at the same rate.
Level of smoothness is up to you, but one way or the other you still need to blend this soup. You really want the flavors to marry. Using a stick (immersion) blender makes that task easy, blending right in the pot. Using a traditional stand blender will make it velvety smooth, just a two-step process.
I hope you give this recipe a try. It’s easy, light and very delicious. Check out my fun video with Liz, making the soup and follow her on Instagram.
Buon Appetito!
Celery-Potato Soup
Serves 4-6
1 bunch of celery, 1” dice, about 4 cups
1 large gold potatoes, about 12 oz., or 2 cups
1 medium onion, 1” dice, about 1 cup
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
¼ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup avocado oil, or another flavorless oil
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
Fresh thyme
Better than Bouillon, low sodium vegetable base
½ cup of a good buttermilk, I like Kate’s Real Buttermilk.
1. Trim the bottom of the celery head, separate the stalks and rinse well. Set aside the tender center and pretty leaves. Dice the stalks in 1” pieces. You should have about 4 cups, more or less. Peel and dice your potato into ¾ – 1” chunks. You should have about 2 cups. Set both aside.
2. In a medium sized-heavy bottom pot melt the butter with the avocado oil over low heat. Add the diced onion and garlic with ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Turn up the heat a little and sweat the onions. They should become soft and translucent in about 3 minutes.
3. Add the celery and potato cooking for another 3 minutes. Add 3-4 cups of water to the pot and mix everything. The vegetables should be just be submerged. Start with 3 cups and add as needed, but don’t go beyond 4 cups. Mix in 1 heaping teaspoon of the Bouillon and a thyme branch with 3-4 stems attached. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. After 15 minutes test the potato by pushing against the side of the pot to see if it’s soft. Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for 5 minutes. Remove the thyme branch and add the buttermilk. If you have an immersion blender carefully puree the soup, right in the pot. If not, carefully puree using a blender, but take care. Hot liquid expands when pureed, so hold the lid down firmly covered with the dishtowel.
5. Taste the soup for seasoning. Add a tiny bit more of the bouillon if desired. If the soup is too thick you can add a little more water or buttermilk. Add them carefully and taste. Remember, you can always add seasoning, but you can’t remove it!
6. Serve warm garnished with a drizzle of buttermilk, the tender center celery leaves and fresh thyme.
Cook’s Notes:
* If your celery is a little limp you can bring it back to life easily. Trim a ¼” from the bottom of the stalk and place it in a container with cool water. The stalk will plump up in no time.
* Don’t worry if you have a little more or a little less of the celery. Get as close to 4 cups as you can.
* If you don’t have avocado oil use something that is flavorless like grapeseed or canola.
* The smaller the potato dice the faster it will cook.
* The immersion blender will work just fine pureeing the soup. However, if you want it to be really velvety and smooth the blender will be your best bet. Just be very careful if the liquid is hot
Reflections from my Bella Cucina 
Looks tasty!
LikeLike