Recipe: Slow-Cooked Mushroom Soup

Dried mushrooms are gently simmered for an hour with garlic, herbs in this recipe. Fresh mushrooms, wine, cream, added before serving, further elevate the soup.

Ingredients

• 25 gm dried porcini mushrooms, pre-soaked in 275 ml water (available for purchase online)
• 5 gm fresh sage or 2.5 gm dried sage
• 2 pods garlic, crushed
• Salt to taste, around ½ tsp

Ingredients, continued

• 75 gm butter
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped

Ingredients, continued

• 1 leek, chopped, optional or replace with 2 stalks spring onion
• 5 gm fresh thyme or 2.5 gm dried thyme
• 225 gm small mushrooms, chopped (keep a few aside unchopped) 

Ingredients, continued

• 110 gm toasted walnuts, ground
• 75 gm cream
• 2 litres hot water

Ingredients, continued

• 1 tsp freshly-ground black pepper powder
• 2 tbsp sherry or white wine
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Method

• In a large saucepan, melt 50 gm of the butter over low heat.
  Add in the unchopped sage, garlic, carrots, celery stalks, onion, leek, unchopped thyme and stir well till glistening with a coating of butter.
  Add in the porcini mushrooms with the soaking water and 2 litres hot water.

Method, continued

• Add the salt and bring to a gentle simmer over low heat for an hour.
• Take off heat, strain the soup and keep the stock aside.
  Remove the sage, thyme, and purée the vegetables with a little bit of the stock in a mixer and keep aside.

Method, continued

• In another large saucepan, warm the remaining 25 gm butter.
  Lightly sauté the chopped small mushrooms for about 5 minutes.
• Pour in the soup mixture, stir in the ground California walnuts, salt, pepper and cook over low heat for 10 more minutes.

Method, continued

• Meanwhile slice the reserved whole mushrooms into wafer-thin slices for a garnish.
• Take the soup off the heat, stir in the cream, sherry, lemon juice and serve piping hot with the slices of raw mushroom floating on top.
• Serves 3-4.

Recipe courtesy California Walnuts