Name: Czech Potato Soup with Mushrooms and Light Roux
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 portions
Ingredients: 600 g potatoes; 1 pc carrot; 1 pc parsley root; 100 g celeriac; 1 pc onion; 2 cloves garlic; 20 g dried mushrooms; 1 tablespoon lard; 1 tablespoon plain flour; 1 teaspoon caraway; 1 teaspoon marjoram; 2 pcs bay leaves; 4 pcs allspice; 1.5 l water; salt; ground pepper; parsley

Step by step process

Prep

1
For this Czech potato soup with mushrooms, peel the potatoes, rinse them under cold running water, and chop into small, evenly sized cubes so they all cook through at the same rate. Peel, trim, and finely dice the carrot, parsley root, and celery as well, then gather everything together in a single bowl ready for the pot.
2
Finely chop the onion. Tip the dried mushrooms into a fine sieve and rinse them under cold water to wash away any grit and soften their deep woodland flavour. Peel the garlic and set it aside for now, ready to be pressed in right at the end of cooking for the fullest, roundest aroma.

Cooking

3
In a roomy pot, melt the lard over gentle low heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes until it turns soft and translucent (keep a close eye on it so it does not burn). Scatter in the flour and stir for another 2 minutes, until you have a light, faintly golden roux with a warm, nutty smell.
4
Whisk in about a third of the cold water little by little, working out any lumps as you go, so the base stays completely smooth. Pour in the rest of the water, mix thoroughly, and bring everything up to a steady boil.
5
Tip in the diced potatoes, the prepared root vegetables, and the rinsed mushrooms, lowering them into the boiling base. Add the caraway seeds, bay leaf, and allspice. Give it a good stir, turn the heat down low, cover with a lid, and let it simmer gently for around 18 to 20 minutes. Stir now and then so nothing catches on the bottom, and check that the pieces have turned meltingly tender.
6
Stir in the pressed garlic and the marjoram at the end, rubbing the marjoram between your palms first to wake up its aroma, then season generously with salt and pepper. Let it simmer for another 2 minutes so all the flavours settle together. Fish out the bay leaf and allspice just before serving.

Serving

7
Ladle the finished soup into warmed bowls and scatter over plenty of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley for a burst of fresh colour. Serve it at its best with a thick slice of fresh, crusty bread on the side.