Velvety celery soup with mushrooms and white pepper

The Winter is still around and this year arrived stronger and took us by surprise... So, the best season for more hearty soups at the table to warm us up! The white pepper in this recipe makes the difference so use freshly ground

Adapted from a recipe of Mina Kakania,
"BHMAgourmet" magazine of "TO BHMA" newspaper (2009)

Ingredients (for 4-6 people):
30gr. dried porcini mushrooms (I've used portobello and button mushrooms -the taste comes out different)
400ml lukewarm water
4 tbsp of olive oil
2 yellow onions, grated
2 cloves of garlic, puréed
2 stalks of celery, finely sliced
1 carrot, roughly chopped
salt
½-1 tsp of white pepper
500gr. of celery bulb, cleaned and roughly chopped
750ml warm chicken or vegetable broth (or water)
½ tea-cup of single cream

Method:
Put the lukewarm water in a bowl and soak the porcini for 30 minutes. When ready, transfer with a slotted spoon on a plate and filter (strain) the liquid, using a coffee filter paper, into the bowl and leave aside.

Warm the oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add the onions, the garlic, the celery, the carrot, salt and the white pepper and sauté for about 7 minutes until the vegetables start softening. Add the celery bulb and stir.

Add in the pot the porcini and their liquid and the chicken broth. When the food comes to the boil, turn the heat to medium-low, cover with the lid and simmer for about 30-35 minutes until the celery bulb is soft.

Transfer the vegetables with some of the liquids (you might need to do it in batches) into a blender and whiz until you have a velvety texture mixture. Add the cream, whiz again and add as much chicken broth as needed to achieve the density you wish.

Transfer the soup back to the pot and warm through in low heat.

Serve in bowls or deep plates along with toasted bread and allow the guests to add more freshly ground white pepper themselves.