Wild Mushroom Soup

On my twenty-third birthday last year, I received a TON and I really do mean A TON of cookbooks.  In a sense, I'm pretty easy to shop for--I can walk down the food and dining section of Barnes & Noble and find 30 or so specialty cookbooks in a heartbeat.  Too much? What's too much?

This recipe comes from one of those cookbooks--400 Soups by Anne Sheasby--and is easily one of my favorite out of the full 400: Wild Mushroom Soup.  The original calls for a several ounces of shitake mushrooms and soaking them in water; after the soaking process, you drain the mushrooms, roast them, and re-use the shitake water for part of your broth.

Although shitakes are great (they really do add a certain je ne sais quoi to any recipe), you can easily substitute this ingredient withe one cup portobello mushrooms as I have done below.  This recipe is earthy, smooth, and so flavorful that it requires very few seasonings.  Make this during winter (or summer!) for a soup that is clearly delicious.

Wild Mushroom Soup
* 3 cups chopped Bella Mushrooms
* 5 cups beef broth
* 3 cloves garlic, pressed
* 2 leeks, thinly sliced
* 1/2 white onion, chopped
* 2/3 cup heavy cream
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 teaspoon thyme

1.) First, measure out all of your ingredients--mushrooms, onions, garlic, and leeks.

2.) Then, prep your ingredients--wash and thinly chop the leeks.

3.) Wash portobello mushrooms and thinly slice.

4.) Roughly chop mushrooms.

5.) Chop half of an onion, and peel several cloves of garlic.  Set aside.


6.) Combine olive oil and butter in a large pot and warm.  

7.) Add leeks, onions, and pressed garlic; simmer for 5-7 minutes.

8.) Add mushrooms and allow to simmer for several minutes, or until properly moist.

9.) Add beef broth and bring to a boil.

10.) Turn heat down to medium and allow to simmer in a half covered pot for 30 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon thyme.

11.) After 30 minutes, remove 3/4 of the soup and puree in a food processor or blender.  

12.) Return to mushroom soup pot.

13.) Add 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream and return to a light boil.  Turn off heat.

14.) Serve with fresh thyme sprigs and enjoy!

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Fish Chowder

With all the great meals and perks of being a "novice chef," one can often find him/herself in a series of culinary pitfalls.  No, this is not a pity party for the girl who eats whole meals, but rather a reflection on those minor setbacks in the kitchen.  What do I mean? Well, I had every good intention of cooking my very first Julia Childs recipe tonight--Ratatouille from the great Provence consisting of roasted eggplant, ripe vine tomatoes, and zucchini.  Well, I came home and discovered that my eggplant had passed to other side of the vegetable garden (i.e., it was dead and more suitable for a compost bin!).  Then, I went to plan B--Spicy Orange Chicken with Lo Mein, Snowpeas, and Mushrooms.  Alas, the grocery store by my house did not carry the peanut oil, Lo Mein, or other international sauces necessary for this dish.  Damn.  Plan C--a Cod/Haddock Chowder with potatoes and tons of fresh ingredients.  Again, the grocery store by my house was also being reorganized and my hopes of finding fish stock were destroyed.  Further, cod and haddock are not common poissons in the southern United States, so I had to purchase a lesser, but hopefully as useful fish, TILAPIA.

What did I learn today? Well, one, you don't do all of your shopping at one store as many Americans are want to do.  And two, you need to be ready to improvise.  For this recipe, improvisation is exactly what I did--when you can't find fish stock, make it, or use another stock.  Tonight, I used Beef Stock because it was what I had.  What started as the strangest substitution for a traditional fish chowder turned into a clearly delicious--and complexly--flavorful recipe.  Plus, the Tilapia was as hardy and delicious as I had hoped!

Creamy Fish Chowder
This recipe comes from 400 Soups by editor Anne Sheasby (London: Hermes House, 2008).  This book was a birthday present last year from a friend, and I have made so many of its soups.  If you'd like to purchase a copy of this same book, you can find it on Amazon for $10 (used) here.  There are few recipe books that I would highly suggest anyone should buy, and this is certainly one of them (not to mention the sacra-saint Mastering the Art of French Cooking).  

Ingredients
* 3 thick-cut bacon rashers (strips)
* 4 cups fish stock, or beef stock
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 2 red potatoes, chopped
* 1 lb skinless haddock, cod, or tilapia cut into 1 inch cubes
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives/green onions
* 1 1/4 cup whipping cream, or milk

1.) Prepare all of your ingredients--chop the onion, potatoes, fish, parsley, and green onions.  Set aside.
2.) Heat up a large boiling pot and cook three slices of bacon in the bottom.  Add onions and potatoes, mix to integrate, and cook over low heat (without browning) for about 10 minutes.  Season to taste.
3.) Add the stock (whether fish or beef) and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer, and simmer for 30 minutes.
4.) Stir in the cubes of fish, parsley, chives/green onions, and simmer for about 3-4 minutes, or until the fish is cooked (DO NOT OVERCOOK FISH.  Tough fish in a a delicious broth could not be more disappointing.).
5.) Stir in the cream or milk and reheat "gently" but do not bring to a boil.  Season to taste.
6.) Serve with fresh parsley to garnish or those delicious chowder crackers that we all love. Enjoy!


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