Old German Potato Soup

The hearty root vegetable soup is great to serve to guests. It has a lovely (and tasty) garnish of sauteed musrooms, onions, and herbs. It's vegetarian, but you could easily add sliced sausages or diced ham to make it a complete meal for the carnivore. The recipe is from Dr. Oetker German Cooking Today cookbook.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 lbs potatoes (floury type instead of waxy, a russet will work)
• 3  ounces celeriac (or substitute celery)
• 9  ounces carrots
• 1  onion
• 1  bay leaf
• 1  clove
• 3  tablespoons butter
• 7  cups  vegetable stock
• 7  ounces leeks
• 1⁄2 cup heavy cream (or creme fraiche)
• 1  teaspoon marjoram leaves
• 1⁄4 teaspoon  grated nutmeg
•  salt and pepper
• 7  ounces  mixed mushrooms (preferably chanterelles)
• 1  onion
• 2  tablespoons butter
• 2  tablespoons  chopped herbs (such as chives, parsley, or chervil, etc.)

Directions

1. Peel and rinse the pototoes, celeriac and carrots. Chop into small dice. Peel the onion and stud it with the bay leaf and clove.
2. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot. Add the diced celeriac and carrots and brown lightly while stirring. Add the diced potatoes, studded onion and the vegetable stock. Cover and bring to a boil and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, remove the outer leaves of the leeks and cut off the root ends and dark green leaves. Cut in half, wash thoroughly, drain and slice. Add the sliced leeks to the soup, cover and cook for about another 10 minutes.
4. Remove the onion with bay leaf and clove. Remove about 1/3 of the potato and vegetable mixture from the soup. Place it into a blender and puree and add back to the pot (or use a stick blender to partially puree the vegetables in the pot). Add the seasonings.
5. For the garnish: Clean the mushrooms, and chop into bite sized pieces if they are large. Peel the onion and dice finely. Melt the butter in a saute pan and add the diced onion. Saute, stirring constantly about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute another 5 minutes.
6. Just before serving top the soup with the mushroom and onion mixture and sprinkle with the herbs.
7. Note: to save time, make the garnish after adding the leek to the soup pot to save time.