One cold grey evening, many good and hungry people gathered in a large, cosy kitchen. And they wanted a hot soup so much that uncle Gosha cooked as many as four: fragrant, rich, and nourishing soups with the time-tested recipes. Everything was so delicious and sincere that although some of us did not meet uncle Gosha again, we still cook soups with his recipes. We start the season with a creamy porcini soup with croutons (where would we be without them?). Then the time comes for the roasted pumpkin soup, and with cold weather, when you want warmth – not only outside, but also inside 😂 – we cook Mexican chili soup and creamy Boston clam chowder. Uncle Gosha is one of the “scattered around the world” Odessa-natives, he lives in America and cooks American food with Odessa style 😉
- Prep time: 20 minutes
- Cook time: 20 minutes
- Serves: 4-6
- Difficulty: easy
- Course: soup
- Cookware: blender, frying pan, large pot
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
- 1½ litre vegetable or low-fat chicken stock
- 500 g cup mushrooms
- 350 g fresh or frozen porcini
- 50 g dry porcini
- 2 large onions
- 1½ tbsp flour
- 100 ml single cream
- butter for frying
- ½ bunch of parsley
Cooking method
Step 1
If the porcinis are frozen, then defrost them in advance. Soak dry mushrooms and leave in water for about an hour. Then take them out of the water, saving the mushroom water. Cut the porcinis. Peel and chop the onions and cup mushrooms.
Step 2
In a large pot, lightly fry half of the onions in butter, then add all the cup mushrooms, half of the porcini mushrooms and all the soaked dry mushrooms. Add 1½ tbsp flour while stirring. The mushrooms should be lightly fried, without a golden crust. Set aside the remaining half of the porcini mushrooms, onions, and mushroom water.
Step 3
Pour stock and mushroom water into the pot with fried mushrooms and onions, mix and bring to boil. Cover and remove from heat after 5 minutes simmering. Blitz the hot soup using a hand blender. Add cream and blitz until smooth.
Step 4
In a frying pan, cook the remaining half of the porcinis and onions in butter. Add to soup. Finely chop the parsley and add before serving.
My tips and tricks:
Dry porcini mushrooms make an excellent spice. To do this, grind them in a coffee grinder into a mushroom mixture and add them to any soup that is appropriate to give a mushroom flavour, for example, borscht. And even in our recipe, to make it easier, you don’t have to soak dry mushrooms, but make a mushroom mixture out of them. Then it should be added when frying the first part of the porcini.
- 1½ litre vegetable or low-fat chicken stock
- 500 g cup mushrooms
- 350 g fresh or frozen porcini
- 50 g dry porcini
- 2 large onions
- 1½ tbsp flour
- 100 ml single cream
- butter for frying
- ½ bunch of parsley
- If the porcinis are frozen, then defrost them in advance. Soak dry mushrooms and leave in water for about an hour. Then take them out of the water, saving the mushroom water. Cut the porcinis. Peel and chop the onions and cup mushrooms.
- In a large pot, lightly fry half of the onions in butter, then add all the cup mushrooms, half of the porcini mushrooms and all the soaked dry mushrooms. Add 1½ tbsp flour while stirring. The mushrooms should be lightly fried, without a golden crust. Set aside the remaining half of the porcini mushrooms, onions, and mushroom water.
- Pour stock and mushroom water into the pot with fried mushrooms and onions, mix and bring to boil. Cover and remove from heat after 5 minutes simmering. Blitz the hot soup using a hand blender. Add cream and blitz until smooth.
- In a frying pan, cook the remaining half of the porcinis and onions in butter. Add to soup. Finely chop the parsley and add before serving.