C is for Celery and Chestnut Soup

In the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe there is a point at which the creatures of Narnia start to notice the ground thawing and signs of spring emerging after a long dark winter. Well, something similar is happening in our home: small but significant changes in Freddie's eating habits. He ate jam yesterday and a yoghurt with bits. Now only parents can relate to this "no bits" obsession that so many
children have. Yoghurt had to be smooth with no unsettling scraps of fruit undermining it. Jam was out of bounds because of the likelihood of scratchy bits of seeds. Could it be that this whole GBVC adventure is actually working? Now I won't count the proverbial chickens before they are hatched but I am feeling optimistic.
Our first C for Celery recipe was this soup...it is delicious and because it is pureed (no bits) the stringiness of the celery is vanquished. Freddie ate his and marked it 8 out of 10.

Celery and Chestnut Soup
25g butter, 1 finely chopped onion, 2 garlic cloves crushed, 4 finely chopped celery sticks, 1 carrot peeled and chopped finely, a can of pureed chestnuts, 1 potato finely sliced, 3 cups stock, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 4 tablespoons creme fraiche. A few basil leaves.

Melt butter, add onion and garlic cloves and cook on medium heat till soft. Add celery, carrot and cook for four minutes. Then add chestnuts, potato and your choice of stock. Bring to the boil, stirring so it doesn't stick on the bottom of the pan. Cover pan and simmer on a lower heat for 20 minutes until its all tender. Turn off heat and cool down. Puree in a food processor or with a blender and serve with a splodge of artfully arranged creme fraiche and a basil leaf.