Cream Of Celery Soup With Blue Cheese

Total Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 7 cups celery, chopped (about 1 1/4 lb)
• 1 large onions or 1 large spanish onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups potatoes, cubed and peeled
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch pepper
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 2 cups sodium-reduced chicken broth
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 6 ounces bleu benedictin blue cheese, crumbled
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped
• freshly ground pepper

Recipe

• 1 in soup pot, melt butter over medium heat; add celery, onion, potatoes, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. cover and cook, stirring occasionally and reducing heat if vegetables show any signs of browning, until celery and onion are tender, about 10 minutes.
• 2 add broth and 2 1/2 cups water; bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer, covered until potatoes are falling aparrt, about 20 minutes.
• 3 in batches, purée in blender; strain through fine sieve. reheat soup in clean soup pot; stir in cream and bring to a simmer. stir in 1 cup of the crumbled cheese until melted.
• 4 ladle into bowls. sprinkle chives over soup; top with remaining cheese, sprinkle with pepper to taste.
• 5 switch it up: replace butter with olive oil, and whipping cream with sour cream.
• 6 cook as directed; after straining puréed hot soup, stir in 1 cup of the cheese until melted (if soup isn't hot enough and cheese doesn't melt completely, return to heat and stir until melted) let cool; whisk in sour cream. chill in refrigerator. taste and add more salt if needed (blue cheeses vary in saltiness, and cold soups generally need a little extra). garnish as above, adding an extra dollop of sour cream, if desired.