My dad commented that this should really be called mushroom stew. It is based on the belief that there is no such thing as “too much mushrooms” in soup (whereas not enough mushrooms = big problem!). You don’t have to put this much in … but you should. It makes a BIG pot of soup! Plenty for lunch leftovers.
1 bag dried porcinis (usually hanging above the regular mushrooms in the grocery store)
16oz small white mushrooms
16oz shitake mushrooms
16oz large white mushrooms (stuffing kind)
3 large portabellos
1 onion
2 carrots
2 leeks (white and green parts)
2 tbs olive oil
1 stick of butter, in quarters
Thyme (fresh or dry)
Parsley (fresh or dry)
1.5 cups dry white wine
½ cup flour
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half
Put the package of dried porcinis in a bowl with 1 cup white wine and let it soak.
Scrape the dark stuff out of the portabellos and get rid of it. Scoop the stems out of the large white mushrooms and the portabellos and chop them up (save the actual mushroom part for later). Put 2 tbs olive oil and 2 tbs butter in the bottom of a big giant soup pot (the one all the soup is eventually going to end up in), and saute one chopped onion, both carrots and the mushroom stems for 10-15 minutes, until everything is soft. Add 6 cups of water, thyme (a generous pinch of dry, or a sprig of fresh), kosher salt (two pinches?) and pepper (about this much). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered. After 30 minutes, put a lid on and continue to simmer until you are ready to add the rest of the ingredients. (Because it is not technically “vegetable soup”, the original recipe states to strain everything out and just reserve the liquid but that’s silly. Don’t do that.)
Meanwhile, in a large, deep frying pan, heat up another 2tbs of butter and put in your chopped leeks. Be patient until they start to brown! You can be chopping ALL THOSE MUSHROOMS while this is going on. Once the leeks start browning, add about 2/3-3/4 of the chopped mushrooms (basically whatever will fit in the pan) and continue cooking until they are soft and the water has dried up (seasoning with salt, thyme and parsley as you go) then scoop all of that into your simmering vegetable broth. Start over with the last 2 tbs of butter and the rest of the mushrooms (including the ones you rehydrated in the wine, after chopping). Once the mushrooms begin to brown, sprinkle in ½ cup flour, mixing as you go to keep from burning. It will make thick sticky glue. Then slowly begin to add the remaining half cup of white wine, stirring consistently to avoid clumps. When this is done, add the mixture to the soup pot, add salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Then add one cup of cream and one cup of half-and-half. Heat through but do not boil once the cream is in.
Serve with mom’s homemade bread!
Let's Get Together and Eat 