Chunky Celery Soup

(recipe from 101 Cookbooks)

1 large onion
1 large russet potato
3 to 4 small - medium carrots
10 medium-length stalks of celery
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
5 cups vegetable broth
2 cups cooked wild rice, brown rice, barley (just about any cooked medium-sized grain)

optional:  celery leaf pesto (if your celery has many leaves intact)
1 cup lightly packed celery leaves
1 large clove garlic
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup olive oil
(Puree all of these ingredients in a food processor for about 30 seconds)

parmesan cheese (optional)

Chop the onion, potato, carrots, and celery into pieces that are about 1/2-inch or smaller.  Do your best to cut everything roughly the same size, as this will keep cooking time across the ingredients somewhat uniform.  You should end up with about 2 1/2 cups of chopped celery.

In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, combine the olive oil, onion, potato, carrots, celery and a few pinches of salt.  Saute for about ten miutes or until the onions and celery soften a touch and expel some water.  Stir in the garlic and add the stock.  Bring to a simmer and let cook for another 10 minutes or until the celery, carrot, and potatoes are just cooked through - resist the urge to overcook them into mush.  Stir in the rice a few minutes before the potatoes and carrot are cooked through.  Remove the soup from the heat and ladle into soup bowls.  Top each with a generous drizzle of the celery leaf pesto and/or some parmesan cheese (optional).

(This is kind of a clean-out-your-fridge recipe.  I found this recipe while searching for a way to use up a lot of celery I had accumulated.  What a delight to find that this soup is extremely delicious!  I didn't even add any grain to the soup, just a little extra carrots and potatoes and celery.  My friend's mom had just given me some homemade basil pesto, which I used instead of making my own kind of pesto.  I brought the soup for my lunches in a mason jar, with a teaspoon of the pesto plopped on top.  I enjoyed it every day, and it just got better and better as the flavors meshed.  I also think that this would be good blended a bit into a creamier consistency.  Very easy and versatile - what a discovery!  Celery soup!)