Sunday, March 1, 2009

Porcini-Truffle Soup

This is a really rich soup I made after my wife noticed an abundance of dried mushrooms in our cupboard. I used about 1 cup of dried porcini mushrooms & probably 2 and half cups of a dried mushroom blend. Both were steeped in hot water for about a half an hour and then strained - the liquid was reserved. I then placed a few sage leaves, a couple of sprigs of thyme, half of a sprig of rosemary, and a bay leaf in about 4 tablespoons of olive oil. I brought this to a boil and then reduced the heat to low and allowed these herbs to steep for about 10 minutes. The herbs were removed and I sauteed one sliced onion, one sliced shallot and two sliced cloves of garlic for about 5 minutes in the herb-infused oil. Next, I dropped the mushrooms, seasoned with salt and pepper and sauteed for about 15 minutes, added a cup of white wine and boiled until reduced by half, then added the reserved mushroom liquid, about a quart of beef stock, the herbs from the oil infusion and brought this mixture to a boil. Once boil was reached, heat is set to low and the mixture simmers for a half an hour. After the time is up, remove as much of the herbs as you can (especially the bay leaf) and puree. Follow up with a half a cup of plain yogurt, season with salt and pepper, then continue to simmer for another 20 minutes. Serve with a healthy dollop of
white truffle "pate" (see below), a drizzle of white truffle oil and a little fresh thyme.

*Side note - I know these truffle products are expensive, but they really do add an amazing flavor. You could certainly make this soup without the truffle additions, but then it wouldn't be as big a treat. You can get this stuff online or if you are fortunate enough to have some nice specialty gourmet food shops around, support those bastards and keep them in business.

*Beer note - I drank a Bell's Hop Slam with this and they played well together. The aromatic hop quality of the beer almost mirrored the aromatic truffle aspect of the soup and the richness of the porcinis worked well with the bitterness of the Hop Slam.



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