Add enough peanut oil to coat the bottom of a medium soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the leeks and celery and reduce heat to medium low; cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes, or until vegetables become lightly translucent without coloring. Add garlic and cook for another minute, then add chicken stock and cornbread. Bring to a low simmer, and let simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

Stir buttermilk and heavy cream together in a large bowl. Add the hot soup very slowly to the milk mixture, stirring constantly, almost drizzling the soup in. Purée soup until smooth in a blender or with immersion blender. Taste and season with salt and pepper. If the soup is too thick for your liking, add chicken stock.

Return the soup to pot and heat very gently over a low heat until hot again. Serve with a little crumbled cornbread on top as a garnish, or use a dollop of the Black Walnut Pesto. To reheat any leftover soup, be sure to re-warm it slowly over low heat to prevent the buttermilk separating. It’s also quite delicious served chilled.

Serves 4

Note: The better your buttermilk, the better this soup will be. JD Country Milk buttermilk is delicious, makes great soup and is available around Kentucky.