Dill & Celery Soup

This vegetarian soup can be served warm, hot or cold. It can also be made with half the amount of dill than I used if you want more of the celery flavor in the foreground. Served cold, it is a perfect lunch soup for summer. Served hot, it will warm you up inside during colder days or nights. The recipe below makes four servings.

Celery Soup

INGREDIENTS:
8 celery stalks
1 green zucchini
1 small or medium yellow onion
1-2 potatoes
2 oz. Butter
1 cup fresh dill leaves (or ½ cup frozen dill)
3 tbsp olive oil
½ cup sour cream, crème fraîche, or heavy cream
3 cups vegetable broth (I make my own and will post recipe later.)
3 tbsp dry white wine
freshly ground pepper
freshly ground nutmeg

The beginning of the cooking process

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Peel the potatoes and chop them up in smaller chunks. Chop the celery, onion, and zucchini into smaller chunks as well. Put it all in a pot with the butter and olive oil and cook while stirring until the onions start looking slightly translucent.
2. Add the broth and simmer until potatoes are cooked through. Add the wine halfway through so that the flavor is absorbed and the alcohol is evaporated.
3. Add the dill and mix the soup in a blender until smooth. (You want to use mostly leaves of dill so make sure you remove any coarse stems before adding it to the soup.)
4. If you want a cold soup, strain it and stir in some heavy cream. If you want to serve it warm, just add a dollop of sour cream or crème fraîche on top when you serve it. You will get a heartier soup if you don’t strain it and serve it warm or hot.
5. Serve with some freshly ground nutmeg and black pepper on top.

Optional:
– Add a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar at the end of the process for a different flavor profile.

Vegan version:
– Use double the amount of olive oil or add canola oil instead of butter if you want to make a vegan version. In that case, you can use coconut milk to get the creamy consistency instead of cream. (Make sure you buy coconut milk that doesn’t come from child labor or animal abuse!)

Strained soup served cold