Mary Berry Celery Soup Recipe

Mary Berry's celery soup is light, elegantly flavoured, and silky smooth — one of the most underrated soups in British cooking.

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings: 4 Portions

Course: Soup

Cuisine: British

Calories: 195

Soup:
40 g unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion roughly chopped
1 large head of celery about 700g, all stalks roughly chopped — reserve pale inner leaves for garnish
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 medium potato about 175g, peeled and roughly chopped
1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
150 ml double cream
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt and white pepper
Pinch of celery salt optional
To Serve:
Double cream or crème fraîche
Reserved pale celery leaves
Celery salt
Good quality olive oil
Crusty bread

Melt butter with oil over medium heat. Cook onion 8 minutes — no colour. Add garlic — 1 minute.
Add chopped celery — cook 5 minutes until beginning to soften. Add potato — stir.
Add stock. Bring to boil — simmer 15–18 minutes until celery and potato are completely tender.
Blend completely smooth — 2 full minutes. Pass through a fine sieve for the most elegant finish.
Return to gentle heat. Add cream and lemon juice. Warm through — do not boil. Add celery salt if using. Season carefully with salt and white pepper.
Ladle into warm bowls. Swirl cream. Add pale celery leaves. Pinch of celery salt. Drizzle of olive oil. Serve with crusty bread.

Use the whole head of celery including pale inner stalks — they are the most fragrant.

Cook celery until completely tender before blending — undercooked gives fibrous results.

Pass through a fine sieve — removes remaining fibres for an elegant finish.

Season with restraint — celery soup is delicate and needs careful, gradual seasoning.

Celery salt deepens the celery flavour significantly — worth adding.

Freeze before adding cream for up to 3 months.