Chunky Celery Soup

We made Bloody Mary's on Sunday and I forgot to put out the celery sticks so now I have a fridge full of celery. Soup. Time for soup. I chopped up one red onion, one yellow onion, 3 carrots, and about 10 stalks of celery and added them to a soup pot with a good dollop of olive oil. I let the veggies cook until the onion was just translucent and added in 3 chopped cloves of garlic, a large pinch of chili peppers, S&P, and a good splash of white wine. The wine cooked down until it was almost evaporated and then I added in about 6 cups of chicken broth, a drained can of pinto beans, and some leftover steamed fingerling potatoes. I brought the soup up to a simmer and let it cook for about 10 minutes until the veggies were tender but not mushy. I added in about a 1 1/2 cups of cooked wild rice for the last couple minutes (just to heat through).

Meanwhile I made a quick pesto ( a flavored oil really) with celery leaves, parsley, a bit of fresh sage, hazelnuts, pecorino cheese, and olive oil. Just before serving I laid a dollop of pesto of top of the hot soup for extra flavor.