November truly is the best time for this wild mushroom soup with crispy sage & crunchy sourdough - it’s the perfect heart and body warming comfort food for these late autumn days.
I don’t cook mushrooms all that often- I’m not sure why, as I find both their flavour and appearance (and variety they come in) very intriguing. In any case, this has recently changed. I’ve been in Athens for the last few months and, along with my everyday view, the light and pace, my cooking seems to also have somehow changed. As I’ve been heavily relying on the nearby little shops and weekly farmer’s market, I’ve found ingredients I have so far only used sporadically and almost exclusively when I’m on holiday, along with others, entirely new to me.
Apart from old favourites (local apples, juicy and slightly hard skinned, sweet though and with the most beautiful crimson colour, or an abundance of green, light brown or almost black olives), I’ve also been charmed by an assortment of these new discoveries: from thick jams and soft sesame, nut and honey bars, to an almost scandalous variety of cheeses and lightly spiced charcuteries from every part of the country, spoon desserts, tahini halva and soft must cookies. And then of course there’s dried mushrooms, carefully harvested from the North and sold in neat little packages. I’ve truly fallen in love with these.
Softened in hot water and sliced thinly, they make absolutely everything sing: I’ve added them, alongside fresh dill and a thick layer of goat butter, on large pieces of toast; they’ve flavoured a thick bolognese and their dark water has hosted local wide and thick egg noodles and broccoli florets. And then of course there’s this soup.
Though I really didn’t cook much with mushroom until recently, what a joy it’s been to get to this dish; what a joy it’s been to find new ingredients to excite you, new textures to feel, new flavours to add to old loved ones. And what a treat, to enter the kitchen with renewed curiosity and a slight anticipation of adventure. These mushroom soup had been a sort of gift, though there truly couldn’t be a more humble start to it: onions, garlic, leeks (for sweetness) and potatoes (for thickness), plain white mushrooms and the softened wild ones, their delicious water, some white wine and stock. Salt and pepper and some almond milk, just before serving. It’s delicious like so and you could stop there; but you really shouldn’t.
Toast thick slices of sourdough and while still hot, tear them into large chunks and top generously with olive oil, sea salt flakes and coarsely ground black pepper. Lastly, fresh sage - which I find criminally underrated; it is such a joy to cook with, it’s intoxicating scent can truly make any dish sing, from pulses to all kinds of meat and buttered pasta. So, fry a small handful of leaves in hot olive oil (keep this for later, it will do wanders drizzled on to fried eggs or a chunky kale salad) and finish off this wonderfully simple, essential wintery and beautiful warming soup with these, the torn sourdough and few of the lovely wild mushrooms, the ones that thankfully got us here in the first place. What a joy!
Wild mushroom soup with crispy sage & crunchy sourdough
WHAT
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks, sliced
1 large white onion, roughly chopped
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
500g crimino mushrooms, thinly sliced
15 g dried wild mushrooms (I used a combination of black and white ones), soaked in 1/2 cup hot water for 30’
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup vegetable stock
For the crispy sage:
2 tablespoons olive oil
A small bunch of sage
For the sourdough:
3-4 sourdough slices
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt flakes & coarsely ground black pepper
HOW
Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium/ low heat and cook the leeks and onion until soft, about 10’. Add the garlic and potatoes and cook for another 2-3’.
Add the fresh and most of the dried mushrooms (hold their water for now and keep some for serving), increase the heat to medium/high and cook undisturbed and covered for about 10’. Remove the lid, add the wine and cook for 5’.
Lower the heat to medium/low and add the mushroom water (pass it through a very fine sieve first), stock and a big pinch of salt and simmer for about 20’.
Turn off the heat and puree using a hand blender to your liking (I like it slightly chunky, not perfectly velvety); return to the pot and add almond milk to your liking (depending on how thick you want the soup, I usually add about 1/4 cup). Taste and adjust the salt if needed, grind some black pepper and keep warm over very low heat (don’t let it boil), while you prepare the crispy sage and sourdough chunks.
Toast the sourdough slices in a toaster or sandwich maker until browned. Remove and torn into sizeable chunks. Drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle sea salt flakes and finally a few good grinds of black pepper.
In a small sauce pan, warm the 2 tablespoons olive oil over high heat; add the sage and fry for about 2-3, or until sizzling (careful not to brown the leaves). Remove the sage from the pan and place on a kitchen paper until ready to serve.
Ladle the soup into bowls, top with the remaining mushrooms, crispy sage, a drizzle of the sage oil and sourdough chunks.