Wild mushroom soup with truffles

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Wild mushroom soup with truffles (photo: Lynne Hemer, Cook and Be Merry)

 I own six dozen of the small juice glasses in the photo above. I bought them at Ikea for Trufflepalooza 2010 because I needed something in which to serve the truffled corn bisque to six dozen guests. Soup at a cocktail party is much easier sipped than spooned.

For Trufflepalooza 2011 I actually planned the menu around the glasses. I served three of the 16 courses in them, including truffled wild mushroom soup. It's a dressed-up version of a soup I make all year long for my mushroom-loving husband. With the right equipment (big pot and immersion blender for sure, egg slicer optional) it's one of the easiest and tastiest soups you'll ever serve.

Note: If you want your mushroom soup ultra-smooth, put it through a fine-mesh sieve before serving, or use a Vitamix or other super-strength countertop blender instead of an immersion blender. I like a little texture myself, but it's up to you.

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Wild mushroom soup with truffles

by Erika Kerekes August-29-2011

Fresh crimini and dried porcini mushrooms combine with black summer truffles to give this soup a huge dose of umami.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
• 2 pounds fresh crimini mushrooms
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 6 large shallots, finely chopped
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp white truffle oil
• 1/2 small fresh black summer truffle (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Instructions

Cover the dried porcini mushrooms with boiling water in a small bowl. Let sit 1 hour.Rinse the crimini mushrooms briefly, making sure all the dirt and grit is gone. I know real chefs don't like to wash mushrooms for fear they'll get soggy, but I've eaten my share of mushroom grit and I don't like it. Soggy mushrooms won't ruin soup. I like them clean.Remove the stems from the caps - you'll just be using the tops in this soup. Keep the stems in a zip-top back in the freezer and use them to make mushroom or vegetable stock another time. You could slice or chop the mushrooms with a knife, but I think it's a lot more fun to use an egg slicer. Put the mushroom cap upside-down on the slicer, then press down the top. You'll get all those mushrooms sliced perfectly evenly in no time. Yes, I realize the soup will be pureed and no one will ever see how perfectly uniform those slices were. But you'll know. Also, this is a great job to delegate to your kids - they love the egg slicer.In a large pot, melt the butter and add the shallots. Saute the shallots about 6 minutes, until they're softened but not browned. Add the sliced mushrooms. Drain the soaked porcini, reserving the liquid, and add the porcini to the pot. Pour in the soaking liquid carefully, making sure any grit in the bottom of the bowl stays in the bowl. Add the chicken stock, bring the pot to a boil, turn it down, and simmer the soup about 20 minutes.When the vegetables are very soft, puree the soup with a hand-held immersion blender. Stir in the cream, truffle oil, grated truffles if using, salt and pepper, and lemon juice. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Serve immediately.

Details

Prep time: 1 hour Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 1 hour 30 mins Yield: 8 bowl-size servings (or 20+ cocktail party sips)