Celeriac And Pear Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 onion, chopped
4 celeriac (celery roots), peeled and cubed
1 carrot, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
8 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon crumbled dried sage
1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
1 tablespoon dried parsley
3 pears - peeled, cored, and chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Preparation

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, shallot, and onion. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the celeriac, carrot, celery, potato, and 1 cup of the vegetable broth; cook and stir until the vegetables are heated, about 5 minutes before pouring in the remaining broth. Season with the pepper, tarragon, sage, thyme, and parsley; gently stir the pears into the mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
Remove the soup from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes; stir the cream into the soup. Pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup right in the cooking pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.