Recipe

Heat the butter in a large heavy pot until it is hot and foaming. Add the onions and cook over medium heat, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add the sliced turnips, potato, and salt, and stir well. Cover the pot tightly, reduce the heat to very low, and cook this way, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Add the chicken stock and cook, partially covered, at a simmer for 10 minutes longer. Remove the soup from the stove and puree in batches, using an electric blender, until it is perfectly smooth. Return the soup to the stove, add the freshly grated nutmeg, and gently simmer for 10 minutes.

Taste carefully for seasoning, adding more salt or nutmeg as needed. If the soup is too thick for your taste, you may add a bit more chicken stock to thin. Serve the soup hot, garnished with a little of the basil sprinkled on top of each serving, if you like.

Makes about 2-1/2 quarts, serving 8.