Wild Mushroom and Roast Garlic Soup

Trim, peel and wash the leek. Peel the carrot, celeriac, onion and garlic. Halve the garlic and stick the bay leaf onto the onion using the clove.

Put all the ingredients into a stockpot and cook gently for one hour, stirring occasionally. Cook for 45 minutes.

Strain the stock through a fine chinois or a sieve lined with a damp muslin cloth. Using coffee filter paper is also acceptable.

Ladle the stock into small containers.

Keeps fresh in chiller for 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Note: for chicken stock add 1 pound of chicken bones to the above recipe and cook for 2 hours more.

Set the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the top off of the garlic bulb to expose the tender tips of the inside. Drizzle lightly with the olive oil. Place in an oven proof dish and cover tightly with tin foil.

Roast in the oven for 30 minutes. It is done when it is soft to the touch. To remove squeeze from the bottom and the individual cloves will fall out.

Remove any dirt from the mushrooms using a cloth. Slice the mushrooms and cut the onion into fine dice.

Heat the oil in a soup pan over high heat. Quickly sauté the onion until translucent not brown add the mushrooms, cooked rice and roasted garlic and sweat for five minutes.

Deglaze the pan with the sherry and reduce it by half. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil.

Reduce to a simmer and cook gently for 20 minutes. Add the thyme leaves and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Blend soup in a food processor and season to taste.

Pour soup into bowls or cappuccino mugs. Heat a small amount of milk and mix with a stick blender until frothy.

Spoon this over the soup to imitate a cappuccino then sprinkle lightly with dried mushroom dust or nutmeg powder.