Porcini Mushroom and Chestnut Soup

With the winters coming to an end in California, I felt like celebrating the warmth in addition to the rains bringing us the earthy smell I wanted something really earthy too.This soup is just that, the earthiness of the Porcini combined with the creaminess of the chestnuts is just the right bowl of soup to have.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms

3 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock

1 tablespoon of butter

1 1/2 cups of roasted chestnuts(Peeled)

6 brown crimini mushrooms diced

1 clove of roasted garlic(place in aluminum foil,coat in oil and roast in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes)

grated parmesan for garnish(optional)

creme fraiche for garnish(optional)

salt and pepper to taste

1.Boil a cup of water and pour it in a bowl , soak the dried porcini in it for 10 minutes.Strain and keep the liquid.Dice the porcini.

2.In a pan melt the butter and saute the crimini and porcini until nicely browned.

3.Add the chestnuts and saute a little more till you obtain a light browning on them.

4.Transfer the ingredients to a blender,add garlic and make a smooth paste adding stock as needed.Transfer the puree to the pan, add the stock and porcini liquid and bring to a simmer.Adjust salt and pepper.Serve hot with a sprinkle of grated parmesan and a drizzle of creme fraiche.

Roasted garlic is optional but it adds to the roasted flavors in the soup.

I served this with a poppy seed sourdough bread smeared with truffle oil and toasted in the oven at 400F for 10 minutes and sprinkled with parmesan and roasted again till the cheese melts.

You can also drizzle truffle oil on top.

You can adjust the thickness of the soup by adding more stock if its too thick or by reducing it if its too thin.