Oct 19, 2011

Kartoffelrahmsuppe (Spiced Potato Soup)

Fragrant with nutmeg and marjoram, this creamy potato soup from Oliver Steffensky, chef at Dorfstuben in the Hotel Bareiss, in Germany's Black Forest, gets a zesty kick from a grating of fresh horseradish root. After cooking, it's whipped into a smooth, airy froth. This recipe first appeared in our November 2011 issue along with Beth Kracklauer's story The Art of Soup.

Credit: Todd Coleman

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

4 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
½ leek, white and light green parts only, cut into 1″ slices
1 ¼ lb. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2″ chunks
2⅔ cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
¼ celery root, finely chopped
2 tbsp. finely grated fresh or prepared horseradish
1 ½ tsp. finely chopped marjoram
2 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. finely chopped chives
Caramelized onions, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat butter in a 6-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat; add garlic, onion, and leek, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add potatoes, stock, cream, celery root, horseradish, marjoram, cloves, and bay leaves, and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper; remove from heat, and using an immersion blender, regular blender, or food processor, purée soup until smooth and frothy. To serve, ladle soup into 4 bowls, and garnish with chives and caramelized onions.

**Correction: October 26, 2011

An earlier version of this recipe incorrectly included 1 tbsp. of oil in the ingredients list. This recipe has been corrected to reflect this.

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #142

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Ratings & Reviews (7)

by PLUTODRIVE on 2011-11-15

I'm not sure if the chopped celery root is to be measured in cups or lbs.

by SAVEUR TEAM on 2011-11-16

Thanks for asking PLUTODRIVE. We've updated the recipe to make it clear that you should be using a quarter of a celery root, not measuring it. An earlier version of this recipe called for "� finely chopped celery root" in the ingredients list. This recipe has been corrected to clarify that it is � celery root, finely chopped.

by DDESMARAIS on 2011-12-06

Absolutely divine. Unfortunately, I couldn't find celery root at my market, but will try again when I do find some. Initially, I reduced the amount of horseradish, but ended up adding the whole measure for the full effect which really makes the soup. Double the recipe if you have more than four (hungry) people sharing and plan to serve as a main course for lunch. My three people loved it.

by bigrey on 2011-12-15

So far, the article from whence this recipe came, is batting 1000 with me. Having previously made and enjoyed the sausage barley soup, I decided to give this a try. Very glad I did. The interplay between all the spices in the soup was nice, but I agree that the horseradish and the celery root were complementary players in the soups depth of flavor-the horseradish on the top end, and the celery root at the base. I hadn't used celery root in quite some time, and i was impressed with the seamless way it matched with the other flavorings. I did the soup in a blender and felt that gave even more air to the creaminess of the texture. I did thin it just a bit with additional stock, and the overall effect was sublime. One of my favorite potato soups ever.