Porcini Mushroom Soup Recipe
A porcini mushroom soup recipe made from seven ingredients including potatoes and porcini mushrooms in an intensely flavorful broth peppered with rosemary and tiny pools of golden olive oil. Great with a big chunk of garlic bread.
This soup is for the mushroom lovers out there. As I was clearing the cupboards in preparation for the painters the other day, I came across a small bag of beautiful dried porcini mushrooms. The soup I ended up making is hearty, fragrant, earthy, and simple to prepare. Seven ingredients including potatoes and porcini mushrooms are packed together in an intensely flavorful broth peppered with rosemary and tiny pools of golden olive oil. Just the thing to go along with chunk of butter-kissed garlic bread. Also, (and here's the best part about this soup) it just keeps on giving. I used the mushrooms in tacos the next day for lunch, and later in the evening used the broth and soba noodles, a bit of spinach and some tofu for a quick supper.
When you go to buy dried porcini mushrooms, try to smell them. I know this might be a challenge (particularly if the bag is sealed), but sometimes the mushrooms are sold in jars. You are after a concentrated mushroom aroma. Avoid anything musty or dusty. Avoid mushrooms that seem crumbly, and avoid any that have little worm holes in them.
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Porcini Mushroom Soup
Not everyone loves giant slurpy pieces of mushrooms, if this is you, simply chop the larger porcini into smaller pieces before soaking them. I should mention I decided to add some oven-roasted chestnuts* to this soup as well - totally optional, although they add an unexpected dense, sweetness, and are a traditional pairing with porcini. I also like this soup with a couple handfuls of cooked brown rice or farro or wheat berries thrown in. And most important -getting the salt right in this soup makes all the difference in the world. If you under-salt the soup it will be flat and the mushroom flavor will not come into focus, so be mindful of this. And lastly, when you go to reheat any leftovers, you may need to add a bit of water, and readjust the seasoning again.
2 ounces of dried porcini mushrooms
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 shallots, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 1/2 pounds small new potatoes, cut into 1/3-inch pieces
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 cups water
1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons saltExtra toppings (optional) freshly grated Parmesan, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, fresh chives or fresh thyme.
Soak the porcini mushrooms in 2 cups of hot water for about 15 minutes, or until they are soft. Set aside.
Heat a splash of the olive oil in a large thick-bottomed pot, saute the shallots for a couple of minutes, then stir in the rosemary and potatoes. Add the remaining olive oil and cook for about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, the porcini along with the soaking liquid, the 4 cups of water, and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for ten minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Taste. If the broth is too intense, you may want to add more water a bit at a time. And take care to get the salt right as well, it's important in a simple soup like this.
Serve as is or topped with any number of the ingredients I listed up above.
Serves 4-6.
*To oven-roast chestnuts, heat the oven to 400F. Prepare the chestnuts by setting them flat-side down. Now carefully cut a small 'x' into the round side of each chestnut - to allow steam to escape as they are roasting in the oven. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake cut side up, for about 20 minutes or until fragrant and the edges of the 'x' cuts begin to peel back a bit. Remove from oven, let cool, peel, and cut into quarters. I always roast a few extra chestnuts while I'm at it in case there are a couple that are off or moldy when you go to peel them.
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Comments
This looks great. Dried porcini mushrooms add so much flavor and they're convenient too!
This looks fantastic ! I tried making a pear & mushroom soup yesterday using a recipe from Deb Gardner & posted in the NYTIMES. You can see the results on my blog: theripetomato.wordpress.com I suspect the pear soup would have benefitted from the dried mushrooms in addition to the fresh ones. I am also fortunate enough to have an uncle who lives in southern Italy (in my dad's home town) and he periodically sends over some real home-dried porcinis. Their quality is unmatched by anything I can find in the US.
This looks awesome! I LOVE mushrooms, and this seems perfect for the snowy days we've been having.
You're awesome Heidi! BEAUTIFUL picture! SEXy recipe!
I'm definitely in the mushroom loving group. The soup, the leftover broth with soba, and the mushroom tacos all sound fantastic!
Every year I look forward to Chanterelle soup in a beef base at the local Blue House Cafe. I love the cream soup idea with mushrooms, also, but this looks very good. I have dried Shitakes in the cupboard. Hmm. Someone else asked about them. They would perhaps be too strong-tasting?
Mushroom soup with Chestnuts - yum! Chestnuts are one of my favorite ingredients and I'm always looking for a new way to incorporate them into recipes. I also love how the different parts of the soup morph into other meals.
I love love love mushrooms. I however have not really experimented with dried mushrooms. I suppose my first step should be to locate some.
I powder the dried mushrooms in the food processer, makes for wonderful soups, pates and such - really wonderful way to use dried mushrooms. Thanks as always for great recipes!!!
You're singing my song! Mushroom lover, indeed. Can't wait:-)
Looks wonderful!
I like.. I like very mush.
I love your recipes Heidi! I use your website more than any of my 50+ cookbooks. I have some dried porcini in the pantry- what a perfect way to fend of the cold Chicago winter.
Heidi, what perfect timing! I stumbled upon a half-used packet of dried mushrooms yesterday. I don't think they're too old, but I guess I'll soon find out :). This sounds like a wonderful comforting soup.
Looking at a comment that Madeline said, about this being similar to a Christmas dish, makes me wonder if the horrific feast that is Ukrainian Christmas Eve might be made a little better with -this- mushroom soup... Even though I'm not a huge fan of mushrooms, the pictures and descriptions of this recipe sounds amazing!
That looks soooo good. I also love to see a mushroom soup recipe without all the cream. I might try a riff on this with Christmas Limas in it. Since they have the chestnut flavor, I think they would go well with the mushrooms. Now if I can just find some decent dried mushrooms. The last ones I bought were garbage material.
Oh you have hit my weakness! Soup and mushrooms ... mmmm. I can't believe I used to hate mushrooms, now I can't live without them.
That looks delicious. Finally, a mushroom soup that isn't just loaded with cream!
I adore porcini mushrooms. I use the broth from soaking the mushrooms as a stock for gravy. I even make a fabulous green bean casserole with it. Not your momma's green bean casserole! Anyway, I think I'll make this soup but add some sauteed fresh mushrooms as well.
This sounds fantastic! I've never really tried dried mushrooms, but this sounds too good to pass up.
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