Czech Potato Mushroom Soup used so many healthy ingredients and was a wonderful, hearty soup for a cold winter dinner. Brown soups do not photograph well but how do you photograph taste? Next time I make it, I will increase the caraway seed and decrease the marjoram because I LOVE caraway. It’s delicious as the recipe states,so make according to your own taste.

This soup would be great if you had leftover beef roast or any other protein to add.

POTATO MUSHROOM SOUP (CZECH BRAMBORAČKA)

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 onions medium
• 1 carrot large
• 3 and ½ ounces celeriac root (100 g)
• 1 parsley root medium
• 4 potatoes medium
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 handful dried mushrooms ideally European varieties; plus 1 and 1/4 cup water to soak
• ¾ stick unsalted butter (85 g)
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (40 g)
• 5 cups water or vegetable broth
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley
• 1 Tablespoon dried marjoram
• ½ teaspoon caraway seeds crushed
• ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
• salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Clean and peel the vegetables (carrot, parsley root, celery, potatoes) and cut into ½-inch cubes. Peel and chop the garlic. Finely chop the onion.
2. Soak the dried mushrooms in 1 ¼ cups water, bring to a boil, and gently simmer for about 10 minutes. Reserve the mushroom stock for later.
3. Heat a Dutch oven or a thick-bottomed soup pot over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the root vegetables (carrot, parsley root, celery – not the onion yet).
4. Fry the vegetables until lightly golden (5-8 minutes), stirring occasionally. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Reduce the heat to one-third and start making the roux. Add the flour to the vegetables and fry for about a minute, until the veggies are coated with flour and lightly golden. Stir frequently to prevent the flour from scorching. Add the crushed caraway seeds and ground pepper, and stir.
6. Add about a cup of water or vegetable broth and whisk to prevent lumps. Add the remaining liquid and stir. Salt to taste, turn up the heat, cover and bring to a boil.
7. Once the soup starts to boil, add the diced potatoes and boil gently for 10 minutes. Then add the chopped garlic, soaked mushrooms and about 1 cup of stock. Reduce heat and let cook covered for about 5-7 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
8. The last step is to add the dried marjoram. Rub the marjoram with your fingers before adding it to release its essential oils. Cook for another 1 minute, then remove the bramboracka soup from the heat.
9. Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Stir in a spoon of chopped fresh parsley.

Recipe from CookLikeCzechs