Potato and Chanterelle Soup
This is a rustic soup featuring chunks of tender potatoes and chanterelles in a savory vegetarian broth.
by John Brown
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Cantharellus formosus. © Alan Rockefeller (from mushroomobserver.org)
Method
In soup pot, sauté chanterelles in 2–3 Tbsp. ghee or butter until liquid evaporates and edges turn lightly golden brown. Remove and reserve mushrooms for later use.
In the same pot, brown onions in 3–4 Tbsp. ghee or butter over medium-low to medium heat, stirring occasionally until the edges caramelize (8 to 12 minutes).
Add broth, herbs and potatoes, and cook until potatoes are tender (15 to 20 minutes).
Add the sautéed mushrooms to the pot, add the Marsala, and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.
Add salt and pepper to taste. (Adjust seasoning as desired.)
When reheating leftovers, refresh the Marsala as needed, to taste.
For a thicker soup, you could use 4 or 5 cups of broth instead of 6; and mash a few of the potato cubes in the pot near the end of cooking.
Recipe contributed:
April
2009
Overcooked chanterelles taste remarkably like canned mushrooms. For this reason, the mushrooms are cooked separately and added last. This, of course, suggests that the soup might be made with canned mushrooms. Curious, I have also tried substituting 4 oz. drained canned mushrooms for a cup of raw chanterelles. I like the chanterelles better, but the soup with canned mushrooms was still delicious.
You can, of course, spend a great deal of money buying your Marsala. I didn’t. I like the less costly brands better; their flavor is more pronounced. Both Gibson (Smart & Final) and Gambarelli & Davitto (Safeway) are less than $5 bucks a bottle, and are great for this soup. Of the wine, my encyclopedia said only that it was named after the Sicilian seaport. Historically, the seaport fares better. It was the site of ancient Lilybaeum, a Carthaginian fortress city, yielded to Rome at the end of the 1st Punic War, 241 B.C.
Objective:
Soup
Total Time:
30-45 minutes
Yield:
4 bowls
Suggested Mushrooms:
- Chanterelle (Cantharellus californicus, Cantharellus formosus, Cantharellus subalbidus)
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Ingredients
3 cups chanterelles (or a combination of mushrooms), chopped
1½ cup chopped onion
6 cups broth
3 Tbl. Marsala wine
1½ tsp. fines herbes or ¾ tsp. each savory and marjoram
6 medium potatoes, cubed
4-quart to 6-quart soup pot or Dutch oven.