Recipe - Mushroom-And-Celery Root Salad

1 ounce Dried mushrooms
One half cup Boiling water
1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
2 lg Spanish onions; cut or sliced up
1 lg Celery root (about 1 lb)
peeled, cut into 1" chunks
1 pound Mushrooms; trimmed
1 lg Pear; peeled, cored,
cut into 1in pieces
6 cup Chicken stock or broth
3 tablespoon Whipping cream
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

PUT DRIED MUSHROOMS in small dish. Add boiling water. Set aside to soak.
Heat oil in 4quart pot. Add onions. Cook over medium heat until softened,
about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add celery root, half of mushrooms, pear
and 4 cups stock. Bring to boil. Simmer, covered, until celery root is
soft, about 25 minutes. Thinly slice remaining mushrooms. Set aside. Strain
solids from liquid, reserving both. Strain dried mushrooms from liquid,
reserving both. Puree solids and dried mushrooms in processor or in batches
in blender until completely smooth. Return to pot. Stir in cooking and
mushroom liquid, remaining stock and mushroom slices. Simmer, covered, 10
minutes. Stir in cream, and water to thin soup if necessary (it should be
very thick). Adjust seasoning. Heat through but do not boil. Can be
refrigerated as long as 4 days or frozen up to 3 months. Serve hot. Makes
11 Cups

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini