This soup was so amazing! I was inspired to make it the other night on a particularly chilly night in Connecticut.
The only thing was I didn’t have dried mushrooms but substituted with fresh sauteed in olive oil/butter in a skillet until golden brown. Then instead of granulated salt I used “shoyu” sauce to add depth of color and flavor.
It was absolutely the BEST soup I have had in years. So good in fact, I’m making it again tonight!
Keep the great recipes coming-vegetarians everywhere are grateful.
Best.

I made this last night, up here in Vermont, when the temperature was well below zero. Even though it is a vegetarian recipe, was hearty, ‘meaty’, and warming. I made it exactly as the recipe called for, and wouldn’t change a thing next time. We didn’t even need to add any of the condiments. Thanks for a new favorite recipe!!
HS: Glad you liked it Sue! Stay warm 🙂

So…this looked so delicious yesterday I went and hunted down some dried porcini (in a shop I might add, there being very few forests in London). I came home and started to cook and as usual realised I didn’t have all the ingredients half way through…..! So the soup I ate last night was minus the chestnuts (which I’m keen to try next time) and subbed in thyme and bay to get the astringency of the rosemary which I didn’t have (how?). I scaled back the oil a little as well as I only happened to have a very expensive bottle in my cupboard, but still poured a fairly generous dose in……it was excellent!! Next time I’ll take a shopping list and do the thing properly….
I’m off the nightshades at the moment so potatoes are out but I think a handful of white beans might go with this too next time I make it. Yum!

Hello Heidi and all,
This is apropos your last recipe for chipotle white beans, on which comments had been closed. I’ve been visiting this site for awhile and often read all the comments for a given recipe, but this is the first time I’ve posted one.
It’s funny how certain things can set off the memory train, but that last recipe sure did. When I was very young (4-ish), my family was quite poor. One of my earliest memories is of having white navy beans for dinner night after night. I’m sure Mama did the best she could to vary the menu, but she was more a practical, country girl cook, and in any case, you’d have found snowballs more easily than a chipotle chili in Alabama nearly fifty years ago.
I’d just like to say it’s a testament to your recipe (and photos) that I’m now tempted to try white beans again. I’ll have to adapt, though, as I’m one of those who can’t stand cilantro.
Thanks, George
HS: Thanks for sharing your story George – let me know how it goes!

Hmm…Yummy! I liked it very much! my Grandmother even added it to our very old recipe book!

Last night I discovered a forgotten bag of porcini myself..what luck I thought to find this recipe today! I was excited to come home and make it; as promised, its hearty and I can see the versatility..can’t wait to try it with soba. Thank you!

This really is a mushroom lover’s dream. I just stopped by a food co-op the other day that had dried porcinis in their bulk bins. I should pick some up for later. I like how you show pictures of the dried mushrooms next to the reconstituted ones to educate folks on how the before and after should look. Fantastic! 🙂

Hi, I come from Poland and we cook here similar soup. It is more delicious if you earlier pick and dry mushrooms yourself 🙂
Happy New Year to all of you and a lot of new tasty recipes in 2009!
Heidi – your blog is wonderful 🙂

Yummy! Thanks for this.

I recently had an amaaazing mushroom side dish at an Italian restaurant. They were roasted wild mushrooms (I believe porcini actually) marinated in balsamic vinegar and truffle oil. They were to die for, but unfortunately probably too expensive to replicate…

Oh wow! That looks absolutely divine. I’m a terrible salter but when I try this (which I definitely will, hopefully very soon) I’ll try to do it justice.

Wow…I love mushrooms too 🙂

I had the pleasure of buying fresh porcinis at my local alimentari when I lived in Italy. I’ve tried the ones here but they just don’t have that same rich, aromatic flavor that the wild Italian ones did. Alas, so much (foodwise) is better in that country! At least we have the dried ones to make intensely-flavored creations such as this. Beautiful job!

I had the pleasure of buying fresh porcinis at my local alimentari when I lived in Italy. I’ve tried the ones here but they just don’t have that same rich, aromatic flavor that the wild Italian ones did. Alas, so much (foodwise) is better in that country! At least we have the dried ones to make intensely-flavored creations such as this. Beautiful job!

i just bought some dried porcini mushrooms from rainbow (so enamored by their bulk bins and jars!) on a whim
Thanks for giving me something to do with them. Otherwise they would probably get lost in the jungle that is my pantry.

Sounds good; I’m intrigued by the porcini/chestnut combination.
When rehydrating dried mushrooms, I’ve found it’s a good idea to filter the soaking liquid through a paper towel or coffee filter before using it in a recipe. I’ve had some pretty gritty mushroom dishes when I neglected to do this.

You’re appealing to the mushroom lovers in us!

Can this be made with canned mushrooms?

what would be a good wine with this? And I am making homemade baguettes for it tonight
:>

I wonder if it’s nice with using dried shiitake mushrooms and less-flavoured oil (and without rosemary?), instead. And adding a slpash of soy sauce… Well, I should try Heidi’s recipe first, and think further.

Mushroom lover here. I posted a Roasted Mushroom Soup recently that I was quite enamored with. Haven’t tried dried mushrooms in soup before though. This one sounds worthy of trying!

i just bought a big container of dried mushrooms, too – perfect timing.

i love, love, love mushroom soup. yours looks fabulous. i can’t wait to try it, and all the ways to use the leftovers.
have a great week!

Your blog looks absoluty amazing!
xxx Bar.

Hi,
I too had a cupboard clear out last week & found half a packet of dried mixed mushrooms, unfortunately too far out of date to use, I’d already boiled up 9 poussin carcasses from the New Years Eve dinner, so used fresh mushrooms instead. It’s just a totaly different flavour, but still a wonderful flavour, & so much nicer than the shop bought stuff! And yes I agree the salt content has to be spot on! I’m putting dried mushy’s on my shopping list this week, thanks for the reminder.

Re cepes and porcini: yes, they are the same thing.
Looking forward to trying this! Would it be too much to make a stock and start the soup with that instead of h2o?

When Costco opened here this summer, I bought an 8 ounce plastic jar of Gourmet Mushroom Blend from Manitou Trading Co. It lists several types of mushrooms, and porcini are listed 2nd, so I assumed they were 2nd most plentiful. Unfortunately I don’t recognize all the mushrooms. I do recognize the morels, and they are listed first! I guess the joke’s on me, because they are soooo expensive fresh and definitely not the most abundant. Last week I put about an ounce into my beef bourgignon recipe. I also used fresh conventional mushrooms. I’m not sure that the dry blend added that much flavor. I’m also not sure of the age of the mushrooms. it does say on the bottom to use them by March 09. I guess I’ll google the different kinds of mushrooms to see what I have. I may pulverize them as someone else suggested. Once I figure out which ones are porcini, I’ll fish them out and try your recipe, Heidi.
Thanks for the blog, Heidi. I get lots of good ideasfrom it. And I especially like how easy it is to navigate the site and find past postings so I can print the recipes when I am ready.

In response to nolagem:
In the time I spent in Perigord and the area between the Lot and Dordogne Rivers, cepes were very common and wonderful. I remember an omelette aux cepes that was to die for. Going the other direction, it took me a while to figure out that cepes = porcini, as these mushrooms are called in the US.

To come home this cold dark northeast night to this recipe..divine!

Anyone know if porcini mushrooms are the same as the french ‘Cepes’? My mom is from the pyrenees region of France and would love to find them. I have fond memories of their aroma cooking up in a skillet with butter, garlic and parsley. Thanks.

if they don’t like big slurpy pieces of mushroom, all the better- more for us mushroom lovers! this looks delicious.

Hey, long-time reader/eater, first-time comment-er. I’m carb-conscious; any suggestions for making this soup without the potatoes? Thanks in advance.
HS: Hmm – perhaps cauliflower?

Thanks for the advice on buying dried mushrooms. I love those kind of tips that you put in your blog.

Can’t wait to try this one!

This looks great. Dried porcini mushrooms add so much flavor and they’re convenient too!

This looks fantastic ! I tried making a pear & mushroom soup yesterday using a recipe from Deb Gardner & posted in the NYTIMES. You can see the results on my blog: theripetomato.wordpress.com I suspect the pear soup would have benefitted from the dried mushrooms in addition to the fresh ones.
I am also fortunate enough to have an uncle who lives in southern Italy (in my dad’s home town) and he periodically sends over some real home-dried porcinis. Their quality is unmatched by anything I can find in the US.

This looks awesome! I LOVE mushrooms, and this seems perfect for the snowy days we’ve been having.

You’re awesome Heidi!
BEAUTIFUL picture!
SEXy recipe!

I’m definitely in the mushroom loving group. The soup, the leftover broth with soba, and the mushroom tacos all sound fantastic!

Every year I look forward to Chanterelle soup in a beef base at the local Blue House Cafe. I love the cream soup idea with mushrooms, also, but this looks very good. I have dried Shitakes in the cupboard. Hmm. Someone else asked about them. They would perhaps be too strong-tasting?

Mushroom soup with Chestnuts – yum! Chestnuts are one of my favorite ingredients and I’m always looking for a new way to incorporate them into recipes. I also love how the different parts of the soup morph into other meals.

I love love love mushrooms. I however have not really experimented with dried mushrooms. I suppose my first step should be to locate some.

I powder the dried mushrooms in the food processer, makes for wonderful soups, pates and such – really wonderful way to use dried mushrooms.
Thanks as always for great recipes!!!

You’re singing my song! Mushroom lover, indeed. Can’t wait:-)

Looks wonderful!

I like.. I like very mush.

I love your recipes Heidi! I use your website more than any of my 50+ cookbooks. I have some dried porcini in the pantry- what a perfect way to fend of the cold Chicago winter.

Heidi, what perfect timing! I stumbled upon a half-used packet of dried mushrooms yesterday. I don’t think they’re too old, but I guess I’ll soon find out :). This sounds like a wonderful comforting soup.

Looking at a comment that Madeline said, about this being similar to a Christmas dish, makes me wonder if the horrific feast that is Ukrainian Christmas Eve might be made a little better with -this- mushroom soup… Even though I’m not a huge fan of mushrooms, the pictures and descriptions of this recipe sounds amazing!

That looks soooo good. I also love to see a mushroom soup recipe without all the cream. I might try a riff on this with Christmas Limas in it. Since they have the chestnut flavor, I think they would go well with the mushrooms. Now if I can just find some decent dried mushrooms. The last ones I bought were garbage material.

Oh you have hit my weakness! Soup and mushrooms … mmmm. I can’t believe I used to hate mushrooms, now I can’t live without them.

That looks delicious. Finally, a mushroom soup that isn’t just loaded with cream!

I adore porcini mushrooms. I use the broth from soaking the mushrooms as a stock for gravy. I even make a fabulous green bean casserole with it. Not your momma’s green bean casserole!
Anyway, I think I’ll make this soup but add some sauteed fresh mushrooms as well.

This sounds fantastic! I’ve never really tried dried mushrooms, but this sounds too good to pass up.

tried this.
it was amazing.
marry me.

I am not the biggest fan of mushrooms but my girlfriend is…and she will LOVE this. Thank you.

delish!

Yeah, I find that the olive oil used for sauteeing is usually more than enough for a pot of soup – no need to add much more to the water. To each their own, though…
HS: I have to say that I do love the body and mouth-feel that comes with the olive oil here – but recognize it might not be for everybody. It’s perfect sopped up with a hunk of bread. Feel free to tweak it (scale back a bit) to your liking.

Great tips about the appropriate salting salting. What do you think about soaking the porcinis in red wine or broth (or replacing the water with either)?
HS: I’d say try it with broth first. Red wine would be an entirely different approach to this soup, and I think some other adjustments might need to be made.

I also found some porcini mushrooms that have been hiding in our cupboards! Can’t wait to try the recipe this week.

Mmm…I do love mushrooms so very much. I’d like to try this with a wild rice blend.
I was surprised by the amount of oil as well. Although I enjoy olive oil, I’m not typically a person that likes food to taste strongly of oil (e.g, I’ll dip my bread in it, esp if it has garlic in it too, and enjoy that, but I don’t want pools of it on my soup). Is there a reason for the amount, or are you just from the oil-lovers’ camp? 😉

I love mushrooms, but I always have trouble getting dry ones to soften enough to be edible (i.e.–not tough). Any suggestions? I have a bag of dried Shitake I’d love to use in this soup!

Oh my lord, this looks delicious. I will be making this in the very near future. And I will have to try it with the roasted chestnuts–sounds amazing!

Nice looking soup. Dried mushrooms almost always hang around my house for way, way, too long. Why is it that so often I can talk myself into thinking that soaking a few mushrooms is a big job?
Thanks for the inpsiration!

I made this today. It was good. Not great, but good. Against my better judgment, I used the 1/3 cup olive oil, as listed, but it was way too oily. Next time, I’ll cut back the oil.

I can almost hear the slurping noises 🙂
Porcini and chestnuts are a gorgeous combination so I’m sure it would be worth the effort to make the chestnut version. I made a lentil and chestnut stew with porcini last weekend and those flavours just work really well together, as you say.

This looks so good – perfect to make on a cold, winter day like today!

I usually add dried porcini to mushroom soups or risottos, or even bolognese, to accentuate the mushroom flavour. This sounds like an interesting way of using them. I like the flavour combination of mushroom, garlic and rosemary.

Yum. Yum. Yum.

Oh my! I know I will love this.

OOh this sounds good for a mushroom wh*re such as myself. I think I might make it with some sauteed shiitakes — what do you think? Too much?

What a great looking soup. I have a jar of dried porcini in my cupboard too, so it would be a great way of using it up. I’ll have to keep it in mind.

We ate a very similar dish this Christmas, but it involved a splash of cream and port. I like this lighter version, though.
I’d really love to hear more about that soba and mushroom soup. Since visiting Japan, soba is even more intimidating than it used to be, and I’d like to hear about your approach.

I love mushrooms; this looks a really good way to use them!