Savor the Flavor

Mushroom Soup

Ingredients: Mushrooms – dried, canned, fresh or a combination of all Whole tomatoes – my personal preference is if you do not can tomatoes, please use San Marzano whole tomatoes – they are the best! Large onion Butter or Margarine Flour Salt

Pepper Paprika Basil Thyme Oil (vegetable or olive)

Instructions: You will notice there are no amounts and that is because I was never told how to do this. It depends on how much you want to make. I usually make a stock pot full. In a skillet, put in approximately 1/2 to 1 cup of flour and brown the flour slowly so it does not scorch. Then cover the bottom of the stock pot with oil and put in a stick of butter and melt it on low to medium heat. Chop the onion and sauté it in the butter and oil. When the onion is tender and transparent, add enough of the browned flour to make a rue. Crush and add the whole tomatoes to the rue. I use 1 can for a small pot and 2 cans for a large pot. Use at least 3 cups of mushrooms for a large pot of soup and 1-2 cups for a small pot of soup. A combination of canned, fresh and dried are all good. You really can’t go wrong with all dried. If you are using canned; add them now with the liquid in the can. I use stems, pieces and sliced. I also put 1 can in the processor for a quick pulse or two. If you are using fresh; clean them, chop, slice, dice and add a half cup of water per cup of mushrooms to the pot. If you are using dried; reconstitute according to package directions, reserving the liquid. Feel and inspect the mushrooms after reconstituting. And yes, feel them with your hands and get rid of any woody stems or stalks. Add them to the pot with a half cup of the liquid per cup of mushrooms. Add salt and pepper to taste and dried spices, approximately 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of paprika and basil and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of thyme. Cook on low heat for 1 hour. This is good served with rice. If you would like garlic, dice it and sauté with the onion. Also, be liberal with the butter/ margarine. If it looks like it could use a little more do not be afraid to throw it in the soup pot! If it is too thick, add water or vegetable broth as this is a fasting dish. The days are long gone by when we went looking for mushrooms in the fall on the side of a mountain for Grandma to clean and string up to dry over the coal stove. Grandma’s lips to Yana’s ears, Slovak

Yana Semonco Hodges

Savor The Flavor

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