Porcini Mushroom Soup

I love this soup! I've made it a couple times and it always tastes SO good. There weren't any porcinis around so I used dried shiitakes instead. Worked great. The only thing with this soup is it doesn't really translate via pictures. Oh well, here goes...

Onions, Garlic, Leeks, Fennel

The addition of potatoes thickens the soup and makes it a complete meal.

Simmering goodness

Ready to go!

Here's the recipe, from New England Soup Factory Cookbook:

3 T butter

4 whole cloves garlic, peeled

1 large onion, peeled and diced

2 leeks (white part only), trimmed and sliced

1 bulb fresh fennel or anise, diced

3 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks

1 cup dried or 2 pounds fresh porcini (or shiitake) mushrooms

6 C chicken or vegetable stock

1 t dried thyme leaves

1/2 C sherry or dry marsala

2 C heavy cream

1/2 t Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper

In a stockpot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onion, leeks, and fennel. Saute for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes, mushrooms, stock, and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the potatoes are soft and tender, ~30 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the sherry, cream, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Puree in a blender (in batches... I like to leave some chunks). Place back on the stove and simmer an additional 5 to 7 minutes to warm through.