Serves 6– 8

The story behind this soup is that my son (Joshua) and I exchange recipes. He has become quite a healthy and gourmet cook , which always makes a mother proud. He mostly shoots from the hip, meaning he reads recipes, then totally changes them to his liking, creating recipes to a whole level of goodness and healthiness. Make this comforting soup when you want to lose some serious pounds and when you can find fresh celery with heads full of leafy tops at your local market. Put some of those tops in the soup and use the rest to flavor broths, sauces, and stews, and to toss in your salads. With only a few ingredients and very quick to make, this is a perfect RV meal. It makes quite a lot depending on your size of celery you start with, but freezes well.

1 Teaspoon olive oil

1 Large yellow onion diced

1 pound of  carrots peeled and cut into rounds

1 small russet potato, peeled and diced

1 Large bunch celery, including some of the tops and leaves, chopped, plus a handful of leaves for garnish

1 Heaping Tablespoon Better Than Bouillon (or homemade stock)

1 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups water, plus more as needed  ( enough  to cover the veg’s by about an inch)

1/3 Cup  minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/2 Cup half and half   (optional)

2 Cups diced roasted chicken  (optional)

GARNISH

¼ cup (1 oz/ 30 g) shredded pecorino romano cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

In a Dutch oven or soup pot,  over medium heat add the  olive oil . When the olive is sizzling add the onion, cook until slightly browned and caramelized. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the  celery, carrot, and potato. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrot is bright orange, about 15 minutes. Add approximately 2 cups of water, or enough  to cover vegetables by at least an inch .Season with 1 heaping Tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon (or 2 cups of homemade stock) and a few grindings of pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 1 hour.Re move from the heat. Using an immersion blender, or a vitamix , purée the soup until smooth. I prefer the vitamix as it really gets the soup silky smooth. Purée in batches, and return the pureed soup to the pot.  At this point you can add the half and half and chicken pieces (totally optional) . Add more broth as needed to achieve your desired consistency. Its that simple now you are ready to serve – remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

NOTE: This soup is also just as good leaving chunky and not pureeing at all,  super good option also.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Top with shredded pecorino romano cheese