Vegetarian Celery Soup with Feta Cheese

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One of the easiest ways to stretch your food budget is to simply pop a meatless meal into the rotation once or twice a week. It can be as simple as having grilled cheese with tomato soup, spaghetti with red sauce, or vegetable soup. This Vegetarian Celery Soup will easily fill the bill and is beyond thrifty.

When you can get a full head of celery for an average of just $0.98, this recipe only uses about 10 ounces of it. That means you only use 1/3 to 1/2 of it, for a grand total of about $0.50.

Vegetarian Celery Soup with Feta Cheese

Now, people often ask: Is celery soup healthy? You betcha! Each large stalk has only about ten calories, yet tons of fiber. You DO want to make sure it is brown spot free though. Celery contains some natural toxins – is produces psoralens, compounds that sensitize the skin to harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation in sunlight. These toxins come from a common fungus called pink rot that affects celery, ans is those brown spots.

Should celery be refrigerated?

Keep celery heads whole, wrap them up tightly in aluminum foil, and then keep them in the refrigerator crisper drawer as usual. The plastic bag your celery came in traps in the ethylene it produces, which makes it break down faster – getting limpy and blooming those brown spots.

If you have ever found that limp celery in your fridge, you simply have to trim the ends, and pop it in a pitcher of water. It will crisp right up overnight. That celery is also telling you to USE IT! If you aren’t making this vegetarian celery soup recipe of mine, then you can use it to make stock, crudites, Waldorf slaw, or even celery gratin to give you a few ideas.

Can celery leaves be used in soup?

A lot of people think you need to trim off the leaves before you slice or dice the celery to eat it. Use the celery leaves as a fresh herb! Mince them finely or coarsely chop them to garnish any dish with bright, celery flavor.

How do you make celery soup from scratch?

It really is super easy – as you can see – just get out the few ingredients we ask for and your taste buds will be happy in no time! This recipe will make two generous bowls, or appetizer sized servings for four.

Vegetarian Celery Soup with Feta Cheese

You will need:

• 10 oz celery, thinly sliced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 TBSP all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of vegetable stock (low sodium is best as celery is naturally high in sodium)
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 3 oz. feta cheese, diced or crumbled
• handful of fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions:

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion until almost tender, but not browned.

Add the celery and stir well.

Sprinkle in the flour and keep on stirring for a few minutes.

Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a quick boil.

Stir constantly. Immediately reduce the heat, cover and gently simmer for about 20 minutes. Place the soup into a blender and process until smooth.

Then return the soup mixture to the saucepan, add the milk and season well with salt, pepper and the lemon juice. Reheat gently.

Serve immediately, sprinkled with feta cheese cubes and parsley.

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