Jane Grigson's Celery Soup

A few people have asked over the years whether this soup can be frozen, but I don’t see any responses to that question. Wondering if anyone has tried it and if so, what was the result?

I subbed thyme, Aleppo pepper and cayenne for the dill. Wow. This is awesome. Restaurant night at home.

Use all the parts of the celery. I find the leaves add great flavor and since this is pureed, you can't even tell.

"Creamy, scrumptious and thick beyond your wildest dreams!!!" says my 11 yr old who took seconds. I derived only 4 servings from the recipe and my soup was quite thick so not sure if I did something wrong. This is the best soup recipe I have come across on this site, despite having tried all genius and popular soups. Many thanks!!!!!!

I just made this soup, with a few alterations and it was AMAZING. I read the comments and decided to add only half the amount of liquid - water in this case to make it vegetarian. I didn't have any dill so I left it out and didn't add the milk or cream. It was still super creamy and flavourful. I will for sure be making this again soon!

I made this minus the following as I didn't have them on hand: onion, milk, cream and chicken stock. Items I added were, the ends of bok choi I had lying around, a full potato, onion powder, vege stock and half a cup of fresh dill. It was still delicious! It was still creamy too, without the milk and cream. I didn't think humble old celery could be the star of a dish but there you go.

Made this just now; based on what others said about the chicken broth being too strong-tasting used about half water and half broth. It's good - no doubt due to the butter at the beginning for sure. Next time I will try it using water only.....I still find the broth detracts from the celery taste. If you are going to follow the directions and use a sieve (which is really optional)....don't use too fine a sieve! Otherwise the soup will get stuck.

One word Deeeeelicious !

I made this for a chef job I did - a dinner in a private home for 18 people. The soup is thin, as noted, which made it perfect to use as a passed hors d'oeurve, (in tiny glasses). Despite it's thin consistency, the flavor is deep and satisfying. I used celery and celeriac (in place of the potato) - and used no milk or cream. I needed to keep the soup vegetarian, so made a homemade vegetable broth with extra celery in it. (commercial vegetable broth would be too sweet) - This is the best version of celery soup I've ever made, I'll be using this recipe from now on.

I happened to have some left-over fennel stalks (never know what to do with those) so I threw them into the pot with the celery. Also used some coconut milk instead of cream. For my tastes, it needed a bit of heat, so I added a dash of cayenne. It was a big hit! Such a cheap and satisfying soup elegant enough for company.

This soup is so perfect that my daughter is requesting it for her sweet 16 birthday meal. As opposed to going out to eat! I serve it with salad and popovers (a little dill in those as well) and it's a favorite in our house.

For the celery, just the stalk or leaves included?

This soup is amazing! I read the others' comments and so, I used half as much broth as the recipe called for. I added no milk or cream. The result was fabulous--tasted like a very rich and creamy soup. Who knew that the 3-week-old lump of celery in my hydrator would yield such a treasure!

I believe the success of this soup hinges on the amount of broth used. The first time I made this, I used only half the broth required (I was surprised to discover that was all I had on hand). It was lovely. Creamy. Flavorful. The second time around, I followed the recipe to the letter, adding the right amount of broth. Even though it turned out lovely before, I have this thing where I feel I really should try the original recipe before adapting it. So I followed it exactly, adding the right amount of broth. I was quite surprised at the result. I expected a thinner soup, but this tasted almost exactly like eating chicken broth. I refused to eat it. Or serve it to guest/family. So I added more veggies and dill so that in the end I had doubled the recipe with the exception of the broth. This gave me the same result as I had the first time. Very creamy with the wonderful taste of celery and dill. All my guests complemented the soup, with one asking for the recipe. I will be making this one again, but with half the broth of course.

The soup is even more amazing than described! And this comes from someone who doesn't like celery :)
It really is something out of nothing. I didn't even have enough stock, only used 1/4 of the amount yet the soup was really flavoursome.

The second time I doubled the celery, doubled the onion, used 3 cups of broth and 1 cup of water, made sure the broth was low sodium. (Too salty the first time) Then after blending very thoroughly with an immersion blender, add a small bit of milk until it is the thickness I wanted. Added finely chopped fresh herbs (chives/parsley) from the garden, and just a pinch of Maldon salt, nice because it adds bits of salty flavor here and there instead of uniformly mixed throughout. Absolutely perfect!!

I was a little iffy about this recipe because i've never had celery soup (or anything like it), but i had a bunch of celery i wasn't planning on using. And i'm so glad i decided to make this, its so rich and creamy. I love it <3 Great recipe.

I've just made this soup -- again -- for the third time. I love it that much. I only had sweet potato, instead of white potato, which worked out beautifully. So perfect.

This is the type of soup I substitute white beans in place of the potato. It works beautifully for thickening plus adding protein & nutrition. Cooked brown rice also works well. I'm discovering a taste for celery recently & have been buying it more, so am looking forward to trying this recipe. :-)

sorry for barrage of questions, but does this soup freeze okay? or not recommended?

i made this last winter so it's been a while...by 'simmer,' does the recipe mean 'covered' or 'uncovered'? or partially covered? i never know...unless a recipe is specific (enough for me)...thanks.

my friends and i enjoyed the soup for lunch and had a cheese and cracker plate beforehand...does that count for protein? 8^) i think i also made this for my children and crumbled bacon on top of my son's bowl. (but let's not dwell on that fact here in this thread, if many of you know what i mean 8^)

I made this tonight and was so impressed by the amount of flavor! Any ideas on what to add to the soup or pair with it for more protein?

I made a few alterations and the result was rich, velvety, and delicious. I only used 4 tbsp butter, no milk, and no cream.

I've been making this almost weekly. I keep getting 2 bunches of celery in my CSA, got to use it up somehow. And this is the delicious solution! As some previous comments say I also double the potato. The kind of potato changes the soup a lot but try different ones to see what you like. Always add the dill when it says in the recipe, it will give you a better color if it is in the blender when you blend it. I serve with a simple roasted salmon fillet with some dill sprinkled on top.

Followed recipe exactly and liked it so much, I tried it with asparagus in place of celery and it was fabulous!

I really liked this recipe and I'll definitely make it again. I am impressed that celery can be delicious! I only used a small amount of milk, also quite a lot of dill and also doubled the potato (as I wanted it to be a little more substantial for dinner by itself). Definitely interested to try it as a thinner 'swishy' soup though.

Delicious. I skipped the milk, tried it before adding the cream and found it didn't need it. I used double the amount of potato and I think a lot more dill as well.

can I freeze a protion of this soup for latter use???

I wonder if this soup would be good served cold or at room temperature ?

Added everything in the crisper that needed eating.. Some bok choy, fennel, leeks. Have made it before and it's always a winner. I don't strain it, but use my immersion blender to really blitz it.

This is awesome. I chose to keep the bulk and not to strain but in every other way I made it as directed. I agree with other cooks who suggest this could also be a delicious and unique base for other soups. Highly versatile and a great use for celery on the way out.

I was completely suprised about how good this was- I used to not like celery until today! I followed the recipe exactly and you should, too. I would strain if I was serving to company, but I didn't and it was still delicious. This recipe might be enough incentive to buy a food mill!

Dandy, delicious recipe. I added a few optional (extra potatoes), a boat load of herbs. Since it is on the thin side and since my DH thinks soup is not substantial I slow poached some pierogies in the soup and he thought I was the genius. Tasty indeed and we have enough for a second meal.

Really delicious! No need for the milk. Use less stock and more potato for more substance. I used a blender and had no need to strain the soup. Quick, easy and a good use for left over celery.

Great recipe, albeit I made a few adjustments: used 1/3 butter indicated, pulled the "strings" off the celery (or whatever they're called) beforehand, so no need for straining at all, used some softish tofu instead of milk or cream, and didn't have potatoes so used celery root instead. Excellent. Will make it again.

This soup is perfect and simple and sublime!!!

I hope this isn't against 'the rules', but I used this as a base for creamy chicken noodle soup and it was delicious!

too decadent for me.. this came off more like a thin sauce than an actual soup.. would reduce the butter significantly if i attempted again

I just want to say made your soup and it was terrific. You can view my attempt here: http://meadowscooks.blogspot.com/2014/02/celery-dill-soup.html

When blending hot liquid, never fill the container more than 3/4 full. Then leave the button insert for the top off
and cover with a towel. This allows the hot air compression to be released and prevent the liquid from exploding out of the blender container. Blend on low speed to begin, then increase speed as the contents begin to liquify.

OM, fantastic flavor! Very comforting! I too, thought it was a little too thin...I'll be leaving the pulp in next time...didn't need the milk either. Also, since I never blended anything hot before, I had no idea to cool the soup down...cool the soup down before blending for those like me! So glad I was quick with the off button...could have had a mess or burned seriously otherwise. I will definitely be making this soup again though! Thanks for the idea...I always have leftover celery and never know what to do with it! THANK YOU!!!

I was looking for a way to use the celery that came with our CSA box this week, and this recipe fit the bill perfectly. I blended, but didn't bother to strain, since I wanted a slightly thicker soup, and didn't add any milk. Delicious, simple flavors that were extremely satisfying. Easy as all get out to throw together, too!

Nancy
I was actually a bit disappointed with this soup. Let it be said that I am a lover of soups, thick and thin, and am devoted to Genius Recipes, but this one just really wasn't genius enough. It's way too thin. The flavor was okay, though it could have used more celery, but way too watery. The first time I make something I do it exactly as the recipe reads, just to see how its creator wanted it to taste. But next time, assuming there is one, I'll add more vegetables. Sorry Food 52, but not a Genius recipe.

Thoroughly delicious; I used leftover mashed potatoes (baby gold, cooked with skin on) instead of cooking them with the soup. Everyone in my family enjoyed this soup. Thanks for sharing it!

Wow, I am impressed. Like most people, I had a big fat stalk of stalks in the crisper that would have turned into mush. (By the way, I do think it's important to use nice firm celery because rotten celery is never good.) I didn't, however, have any dried or fresh dill, but it still turned out fabulous. I didn't even peel my potatoes or strain the soup, which I might after eating a bowl as-is. PS: Anointing the soup with olive oil is a lovely touch. PPS: I used a bouillon vegetable cube with four cups of water for the stock. This is on the keeper list!

Just made this and had a delicious lunch! Halved the amounts of ingredients in this trial run.Mixed Smart Balance with the butter and a little EVOO. Blended, did not strain; did not add additional milk or cream due to lactose intolerance. Still smooth with a little bit of substance. Used low sodium chicken broth with a tad of Trader Joe's chicken broth concentrate and no additional salt--and forgot the pepper but still wonderful! Will make again......

What did I do wrong? Maybe didn't puree it long enough? I followed the recipe and when I put the soup through the strainer I ended up with mucho pulp.....the liquid that went through is very good, but very watery - will use it in another sauce but would like to know what I did wrong so I won't do it again. Thanks for whatever advice you can give.

Very pleased with this recipe . . . it was quite delicious, light but satisfying, and simple to make. I'm so glad that I now have a way to use up leftover celery.

Years ago I made a celery soup (called "Essence of Celery Soup") from a cookbook of my mom's. There was no cream or milk in it, and it was one of the best tasting, most comforting soups I'd ever eaten. I've completely lost the recipe. Looking at this one, I'm thinking it may become the basis for re-creating that soup. In the meantime, I'm going to make it as is. I LOVE celery soup!

Just made this and it is seriously delicious. I don't know why, but it reminds me of childhood. And super easy to throw together.

I have revered Jane Grigson ever since getting a copy of her "English Food" about 25 years ago. A joy to read, so informative and so well-written.

This sounds like a true genius recipe. And what a great way to use up all the celery that is inevitably left over after I use a stalk or two for a recipe.

This is very much like the start of leeks, or celery or endive, etc. recipes which are butter poached. Diced or sliced, put into a pan with a small amount of butter and water, brought to a boil and then simmered until liquid reduces to a glaze on the vegetables and they are tender. This always seems to bring out the inherent qualities of the vegetables as well as adding another dimension or two (depending on the vegetable...I have done this with cucumbers, radishes, celery, parsnips, the list goes on.)