Last week, my colleague Eric commented that I eat a lot of soup for lunch. It’s true. I make at least one pot of soup every week.

Given the vegetables at hand, the obvious choice was to start the week with some cream of celery soup.  In the past, I’ve tried various recipes to use up leftover celery sticks from parties.  This batch came out totally different.  The end results tasted remarkably like potato-leek soup with a strong celery flavor, pleasantly bitter,  instead of leek.  The celery had so many leaves, the soup was more green than white.

Cream of Celery Soup
Adapted from “Recipes from the Night Kitchen” by Sally Nirenberg

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 bunch scallions, the whole thing, green and white, sliced thin (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 bunch celery, including leaves (about 1-1/2 lbs)
• 6 cups chicken broth or water
• 1 lb potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup half-and-half

Heat the oil in a soup pot.  Saute scallions and celery, covered, until vegetables wilt, about 10 – 15 minutes.  Add broth, potato, and rosemary.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, until celery and potato are tender, about 25 minutes.  Process in the blender until smooth.  Stir in nutmeg and cream.  Adjust seasonings.