The idea from this recipe is Italian, but there is the small issue about local ingredients. We haven’t got porcini, or even woodlands that they could grow in. I have got a lot of potatoes though, so I substituted quite a bit. The soup is delicious.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 small sweet red onion, finely chopped
- 2 to 3 sticks of celery, finely chopped
- 125g butter
- 2 medium potatoes, a variety good for mashing (I used Arran Victory)
- 1.5 litres of boiling water or light stock
- 1 punnet of chestnut mushrooms, 200g to 300g, sliced
- 1 40g jar of dried porcini mushrooms
- salt and pepper
- 250ml single cream
- a large bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped.
METHOD:
- Pour boiling water onto the porcini mushrooms in a small jug, and let this sit while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and gently fry the onion and celery together until they are soft, around ten minutes
- Peel and grate the potatoes and add to the pan, stir to mix in the butter, and then add the stock or water, and bring to a simmer, and cook for ten minutes
- Add the finely sliced mushrooms. Strain the porcini mushrooms and add the liquor to the pot. Chop the soaked mushrooms, and add them to the pot as well. Bring to a simmer and cook for twenty minutes.
- Taste the soup and add salt and pepper to taste, then blend with a soup blender. Add the cream and bring it all back to a gentle simmer.
- Chop the parsley very finely and stir it through the soup.
We had this with home-made crusty bread. The soup is deliciously buttery and smooth.