Celery Cream Soup

Ingredients 1 celery root (1-2 lbs)- a medium to large size one depending your taste (look for a fresh firm one!) 2 medium sized parsnip (hungarians can use parsley root - gyökér - if they can find it) 2 medium sized PEAR (YES! Don't be surprized!) another school uses apples but those are not so tasty 2 small potatoes 1 medium red onion (shallot is better if you can get them) 1/8 - 1/4 lbs butter or olive oil (I prefer butter) Spices I used (feel free to improvise - I never remember what did I put into it except this particular occasion): 1 small cloves of garlic 1 tsp Pepper meadly 1/4 tsp Mace (small piece - it has an overwhelming taste!) 1/4 tsp of allspice 1 tbs dried basil or a few fresh leaves teared to small pieces 1 tbs dried thyme or a small bunch of fresh one 1 small bunch of rosemary (can use dried one too) 1 handful of walnut Small bunch of parsley

Pour olive oil or butter into a pan creating an oily substrate for the dish. Slice the parsnip crosswise to thick slices (1/4 ") and spread it to the pan. Sprinkle with a pich of coarse or regular salt sparingly and with a pinch of sugar. In a medium to high heat brown the parsnip on both side Repeate the same with celery root so you'll make a tasty browned vegetables.

Meanwhile add 2 tsp butter/oil to a 3 quart pot and dice the onion to fine and sautee the onion in the pot while the other ingredients are frying in the pan. Most likely the onion will be ready up front, so set it aside while finishing up the work in the pan.

In a blender or mortar pulverize the dry spices then add the walnut to the mixture and make it into a dense paste!

While you are browning the ingredients, just pour them one by one into the pot on top of the onion.

When all the veggies are nicely browned and added to the pot, add 2-3 quarts of water or some beef broth when available. Taste if it is salty enough and let it simmer for an hour or until all the ingredients are tender.

Use a stick blender to make a nice smooth cream from the mixture. One can add some cream or egg yolk to make it even more smooth!

When you think it is all set, add the finely chopped parsley to the soup. ENJOY!