Polish Mushroom Soup with Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 0.7 ounce dry porcini mushrooms (optional), dehydrated
• 4 tablespoons clarified butter or olive oil, divided
• 1 leek (white parts only), washed and chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, washed and chopped
• 4 Yukon Gold Idaho® potatoes, medium size, cut into ½˝ cubes
• 5 cups of mushroom broth (or vegetable or chicken)
• 1 parsnip, peeled and left whole
• ½ Vidalia or Spanish onion, chopped
• 24 ounces fresh mushrooms (mixed of white button and baby bella), cleaned and sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, to garnish

Directions:

1. If using dry porcini mushrooms, place them in a pot of water and let sit for at least an hour, or better yet, overnight. Bring to a boil and cook for approximately an hour, or until tender.
2. In a Dutch oven, or other soup pot, heat 2 tablespoons of clarified butter or olive oil. Add chopped leeks and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add chopped carrots, celery and potatoes, and cook for another 3 minutes.
4. Add broth and whole parsnip, cover and cook for 20 minutes on medium heat.
5. In the meantime, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of clarified butter or oil in a skillet.
6. Add chopped onions and cook for 5 minutes, until translucent.
7. Add sliced mushrooms and let them cook without touching for 10 minutes. Stir, add a pinch of salt and pepper and let cook for another 5 minutes.
8. Once mushrooms are cooked, add them to the broth.
9. If using dry mushrooms, remove them from the cooking liquid, gently making sure not to stir the water as the dirt from the mushrooms will likely have settled on the bottom of the pot. Chop them roughly and add to the pot.
10. Remove and discard the parsnip (it was added to enhance the flavor of the broth).
11. Cover the pot and cook the soup for another 10 minutes.
12. Add the heavy cream.
13. Serve chunky, partially blended or fully blended depending on your consistency preferences.
14. Sprinkle with parsley and enjoy!

Notes:

To enhance the mushroom flavor you could add some of the liquid used from cooking your porcini mushrooms. You’ll need to be gentle here though, as there may be dirt at the bottom of the pot, from the mushrooms, and you don’t want any of that added to the soup. Make sure to filter through a thin strainer if you decide to do so. Also some supermarkets sell cubed mushroom bouillons. If you can find it, use it with some water instead of the broth option. They tend to have a lot more intense flavor.