Italian Country Style Celery Soup

I tend to make this dish after I have had a party where I served dip. I always seem to have more celery sticks than anyone eats -- or than I feel like eating ever, so I pull out this recipe for a warm easy leftover (the oyster party lives on) dinner.

First sauté a chopped onion, 3-4 slices chopped bacon, some cracked pepper and a couple cloves of garlic in olive oil. When the onion is soft add in two TBs of tomato paste and 2 bunches of chopped celery. Stir those around for 5 minutes or so, add 1 quart of chicken stock and allow the pot to simmer (covered) for 20 minutes or so. Next uncover the pot and add 1/2 cup uncooked rice and allow to simmer for 15 minutes more or until the rice is cooked. Season with S&P and serve.

Usually I would top this soup with a handful of freshly grated parmesan, but we were low on parmesan and have a fridge full of cheese leftovers so I made a few taleggio toasts and floated them on top.