La Platicona Habla: Tastes, Passions and Pursuits

Here he is again, this time making a "real" mushroom soup that surprisingly contains no cream. The only problem I had with this recipe was that I had a very hard time finding dry porcini mushrooms. I finally had success at Whole Foods, although I am sure I could have found them at an Italian or import gourmet grocer much cheaper. The good thing was that Whole Foods had a wide selection of mushrooms, so I was able get all of my ingredients at once.

You will need:
- 1 package of dried porcini mushrooms
- 2 handfuls of fresh (washed) oyster, chitake (shiitake?), and cremini mushrooms, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 2 tbsp of butter
- 3 tbsp of olive oil
- handful of fresh thyme, leaves picked over
- 4 c of chicken or vegetable stock
- handful of fresh flat leaf parsley
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- Optional: 2 tbsp of marscapone, or substitute 3 tbsp of heavy whipping cream

Step one: Place the porcini in a bowl and pour 2 c of boiling water over it, soaking while you cook.

Step Two: In a large stock pot combine the olive oil, garlic, onion, butter, thyme, and mushrooms over medium heat. Cook for 4-6 minutes or until mushrooms start to sweat. Stir and add your soaked, chopped porcini mushrooms (drain well first, reserving liquid). Season with salt and pepper.

Step Three: Add the rest of your porcini reserve liquid, stock, white wine and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes.

Step Four: After cooking, remove half of the soup and puree it in a blender; return puree to the pot. Add parsley and marscapone or cream. Serve the soup in bowls with a crostini toast, a squeeze of lemon juice and pinch of lemon zest.

This soup is a bit of a labor of love, so if you don't feel like going through the trouble of finding porcini mushrooms, I suggest leaving this soup to the more inspired cooks.

Labels: cream, mushrooms, soup

Jaime Oliver has completely taken over my kitchen. Seriously, I need to put the book down already, but I can't help reaching for it right before I go grocery shopping and finding something absolutely delicious for dinner that I must try. This bok choy dish is one of those random creations of his that I had to attempt because those left over rice noodles from the spring rolls I made are still in my cupboard. I've altered some of the flavors here, and you should too. If you have a gluten allergy, this is a great dish that is sure to satisfy.

You will need:
- 1 4oz package of rice noodles
- 1 tbsp of sesame oil
- 1 tbsp of chile garlic sauce (in Asian food aisle, it has a picture of a rooster on it and is bright red)
- optional: 4 oz of beef sirloin cut into thin strips
- olive oil
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
- chile piquin
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
- 1 package of shiitake mushrooms (2 large handfuls)
- 1 c of chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 c of white wine
- 1 bok choy, rinsed and chopped up (or 4 baby bok choy)

Step One: Take noodles, place in a small pot of boiling water and cook for 4 minutes. Take off of the heat and let finish cooking until limp. Drain and set aside.

Step Two: In a saute pan, cook garlic, 3 tbsp of olive oil, and onions until the onions soften. If you have beef, add it to the pan and cook it until meat is to the color you like it (I suggest medium rare). Add bok choy, stock, wine, chile piquin, ginger and cook for 5 minutes (cover). Add torn shiitake mushrooms here and cook until just about soft.

Step Three: Toss rice noodles with chile garlic sauce & sesame oil. Serve in bowls and cover with bok choy mixture.

Labels: bok choy, mushrooms, rice noodles

A spring snow storm has rolled through the front range today and all the green grass, flowering trees, and budding plants have received a dusting of white this morning. To honor the much needed moisture, I will post a soup recipe today that is sure to warm you through until the sunshine returns.

For this mushroom soup, without the milk (for my lactose intolerant friends), you will need:
- olive oil to sauté;
- ½ small white onion minced;
- 2 c of mushrooms, sliced (I used cremini and oyster mushrooms);
- 2 celery stalks, diced;
- 1 carrot, diced;
- 2 bay leaves;
- 1 c white wine;
- 2 tsp corn starch;
- 3 c vegetable stock;
- 2 c water;
- handful of fresh Italian parsley, chopped;
- 4 c cooked wild rice.

Step One: Cook the wild rice (about 2 c of raw rice makes 4 cups of cooked rice) according to directions. I used my rice cooker, but you can use a microwave brand, or whatever brand you like. Set this aside.

Step Two: In a large stock pot, sauté the onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves, salt & pepper in 4 tbsp of olive oil until translucent over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and white wine; cook for 5-7 minutes. When the wine reduces, add the corn starch and stir until incorporated.

Step Three: Add the vegetable stock and water, cook over medium-high heat for 15 minutes (let simmer, but not boil).

Step Four: When stock reduces by about 1 cup, soup is ready. Ladle soup over bowls of wild rice; season to your liking (I usually sprinkle that Italian parsley on at this point). When storing the soup, keep the rice and soup separate or else the rice will bloat and fall apart overnight.

Labels: mushrooms, soup

This recipe is a follow-up to the Saffron Shrimp and Pea risotto posted on 1/8/06. This version contains no meat and is perfect for the fungus lover among us. This post also features a step-by-step demonstration of the cooking stages for risotto that will help the cooking impaired better grasp the steps for cooking this dish.

Risotto, as I mentioned previously, is made in Italy from native medium-grain varieties of rice that can tolerate the rigorous method of cooking that removes the starch from the rice and becomes the thickening agent of the dish giving it the creamy texture that makes it famous.

You will need:

- 2 c of dry risotto (don't buy a oartially cooked brand)

- 1/4 c of minced shallots or white onion;

-3 cloves of crushed garlic;

- 1 c of chopped cremini and chitake mushrooms;

- 1 small handful of dried porcini mushrooms;

- 3 tsp of truffle oil;

- 3/4 c of grated parmesan (fresh!);

- 1 c of sweet peas (optional);

- olive oil; salt.

For the broth: 1 washed and halved potato, 1 quartered zuccinni; 1/2 white onion; 1 carrot. Substitute this broth for 3 c of chicken stock, 3 cups of vegetable broth, and 1 c of water.

Step One: In a stock pot, combine 6 cups of water, 1 c of white wine, and potato, zuccinni, carrot and onion. Bring to a boil.

Step Two: In a separate large saute pan, combine risotto, onions, garlic, and 3 tblsp of olive oil over high heat. Stir constantly for 2 minutes.

Step Three: ladle in 2 cups of liquid from boiling cup of broth. Stir until liquid is absorbed by rice. The rice should slowly thicken from this repetative process. You will repeat this step for 18 minutes, being sure to only ladle in a cup or two at a time until it is absorbed, and stir constantly. In total, you will have added about 6-8 cups of liquid, depending on your high heat temp on the stove and altitude.

Step Four: Add mushrooms and peas. Cook for another 4 minutes.

Step Five. Remove from heat, place in a large mixing bowl and add cheese and salt. Stir in truffle oil. serve over spinach.

Labels: mushrooms, risotto