This soup yields big return for little effort. Using fresh porcini mushrooms is essential. Porcini have such an intense aroma and flavor that you don’t have to start off with onions or garlic—the mushrooms do all the work. The soup has an almost silky, delicate texture, yet it’s meaty and flavorful enough to be comfort food. In Italy, you get a bunch of the herb nepitella with your porcini. It’s a cross between mint and oregano, so if you can’t get your hands on nepitella, a mix of fresh mint and oregano is fine.
Ingredients
4 large fresh porcini mushrooms
4 tbsp (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp (30 ml) unsalted butter
1 sprig nepitella, or a combination of equal parts fresh mint and oregano
5 cups (1.25 L) vegetable stock
Salt and freshly ground pepper, QB
2 eggs
1 cup (250 ml) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Directions
1. Clean the mushrooms by rubbing off any loose dirt with a clean dishtowel. With a paring knife, cut off any tough parts of the base or the root. Roughly chop the porcini.
2. Put your soup pot on medium-high heat and add the olive oil and butter.
All the porcini go right into the pot. Stir them around. Once they’ve absorbed the oil and butter, add the herbs, a splash of the vegetable stock to prevent the porcini from sticking, and salt and pepper. The porcini will soften up and you’ll have what looks like a thick sauce.
3. Pour in enough of the remaining vegetable stock to cover the porcini. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and a good handful of Parmigiano. Drizzle that into the pot. Stir it and you’ll see the egg break up and form into little silky strips. This helps thicken the soup. Serve immediately.
Serves 4
Recipe excerpted from La Dolce Vita Cookbook by David Rocco. Published by HarperCollins Canada Ltd. Copyright 2008 by David Rocco. Excerpted with permission of HarperCollins Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Buy the book now!