Cream of Mushroom Soup

From the Joy of Cooking

Prepare for cooking:

½ pound (250 grams) mushrooms with stems

Sauté lightly in

2 tablespoons butter (1 ounce or 25 grams)

Add them to:

 2 cups stock

 ½ cup chopped celery (or celeriac)
 ¼ cup chopped onion (I use more)
 2 tablespoons shredded parsley

Simmer covered 20 minutes. Drain the vegetables, keep the liquid, and put the vegetables through the food processor.
(I put all of it through the blender).

Make a white sauce (or béchamel sauce- see below for instructions)

Pour the liquid slowly into the white sauce, cook and stir until the sauce almost reaches a boil, add the vegetables (I just put it all into together). Heat but DO NOT BOIL.

Season the soup with:

½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon paprika (I use more and Turkish spices)

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
3 tablespoon dry white wine (optional)

Garnish with paprika and chopped chives

 White Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

1 ½ to 2 tablespoons flour

1 cup warm milk

Melt the butter over low heat. Add the flour and blend for 3 to 5 minutes. Slowly stir in the warm milk. Cook and stir the sauce with a wire whisk until thickened and smooth. (If you get a thick sauce with lumps you can try putting it through the blender to see if that helps).