This February our theme for Gourmet Club was Aphrodisiac foods. My category was appetizer. With all this cold weather I decided to make a soup. When we think of aphrodisiacs the obvious go tos are chocolate or oysters. But I decided to dig a little deeper and find some other options. And celery soup was the winner. The soup was simple, elegant and so delicious. I will make it again and again. And I normally always have a head of celery in the fridge that I only end up using a tiny bit for stock.
Celery is an incredible aphrodisiac. It stimulates the pituitary gland, an important element in releasing sexual hormones. It is said that the scent of celery is an androstenone, the primary male pheromone. Celery also contains phyto-androgens, which are similar to testosterone and can increase sexual desire in women. It’s packed with antioxidants and is proven to offer anti-inflammatory benefits.
It has a combination of Vitamin E, magnesium, niacin, potassium and zinc, which are all required for optimum sex. As Kelley Snyder from Solluna points out celery also contains arginine, which is an amino acid that expands blood vessels the way Viagra is supposed to do.
So let’s eat some celery gals!
A soup is always better with homemade stock. And after all this was for gourmet club so I started with a nice rich turkey stock. Normally I ask the butcher to cleave the wings for me, but I forgot! Hence the wings were sticking out of my Le Creuset until I popped on the lid.
I had forgotten some of my ingredients, so I popped the vegetables in the slow cooker and ran down the hill to Trader Joes to pick up cream and dill. When I got home the vegetables were perfectly cooked. I then transferred them to the pot.
The soup benefits from being strained to give it a nice smooth consistency.
Celery Soup
serves 4-8
Ingredients
1 chopped head of celery – keep best leaves for garnish
1 chopped large waxy potato
1 chopped medium onion
1/2 stick unsalted butter
Salt
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 sprigs cup fresh dill
1/2 cup heavy cream
Garnish
Celery leaves
Olive oil
Flaky sea salt
Instructions
Combine 1 chopped head of celery, 1 chopped large waxy potato, 1 chopped medium onion, and 1/2 stick butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat; season with salt.
Cook, stirring, until onion is tender, 8–10 minutes.
Add 4 cups broth; simmer until potatoes are tender, 8–10 minutes. Purée in a blender with 1/4 cup fresh dill; strain by pushing through sieve. Stir in 1/2 cup heavy cream. Serve soup topped with celery leaves, olive oil, and flaky sea salt.
Notes
I threw celery, potato onion and butter in the slow cooker on high for an hour and ran to the store to pick up the dill and cream which I’d forgotten. It was the perfect way to soften the vegetables!
I used black flaky salt to finish which was pretty contrast.
