Wonderful and Wild Mushroom Soup

4 teaspoons vegetable or mushroom base, such as Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base
4 cups hot water
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, rinsed quickly in a strainer, patted dry
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, diced
1 cup celery root, peeled and diced
2 pounds crimini mushrooms or 1 1/2 pounds crimini plus 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms
1/4 cup sweet sherry, dry or medium can be substituted if you don't have sweet or a non alcoholic substitution is to increase the broth by 3 tablespoons and add 1 tablespoon of balsamic or sherry vinegar plus 1 teaspoon of honey
1/2 teaspoon fresh tarragon
salt and black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Dissolve the base in hot water, scoop out 1 cup of the broth and soak the porcini mushrooms. Set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large soup pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute 5 minutes or until the onions are soft. Add the celery and celery root and cook an additional 5 minutes.
Meanwhile gently wash the mushrooms, remove their stems and thinly slice 1/3rd. of them and set them aside. Coarsely chop the remaining mushrooms, including the stems and add them to the soup pot. If including shiitake mushrooms, discard their stems, coarsely chop and do not set any aside, but add all of them to the soup pot. Saute 5 more minutes. Scoop out the soaking mushrooms from their broth and add them to the pot. Strain the soaking broth and add it to the pot.
Add remaining base and water mixture, sherry, tarragon, and sugar and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and allow to simmer 20 minutes. Allow to cool a little before bending to a puree.
While soup is cooling, heat remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil and saute the reserved mushrooms. Add mushrooms to the soup after it has been pureed. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Served garnished with chopped parsley.

Nutrition Information