Mushroom Soup

This is another adaptation recipe from Jamie Oliver's Cookbook Jamie's Dinners. In the soup chapter he gives us a mix mushrooms cream soup with at least three different kinds of mushrooms in it. It's a cream soup with some whole bits in it, too. The idea to make it came to me from the great loaf of bread that I just baked the other day. I could just imagine sinking a torn bit of bread in the mushroomy broth/cream and biting out of it!

INGREDIENTS:

• about 500 to 700 gr. mushrooms of as many types as you can find (wild ones are unbeatable in the taste dept. and porcini are the next best thing; I used two types of champignon - white and brown, and a third Chanterelle mushrooms);
• one large onion;
• few tablespoons olive oil;
• 2 cloves garlic;
• 1 inch cube butter;
• 1 liter water or chicken stock;
• salt, pepper, time, fresh parsley.

HOW TO MAKE:

Heat up some olive oil and the butter in a pan and add the onion (chopped fine). Add salt and then throw in the mushrooms cut into medium pieces (about 1 inch). Stir them around and add the finely chopped garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Stir and notice the mushrooms start to leak a lot of liquid. Add the time and cook on medium heat until the liquid has almost evaporated (about 10 minutes). Don't burn anything. Add water or stock to cover and boil another 20 minutes. 

At this point use a hand blender to cream at least half the soup. The other half or quarter of the mushrooms you put aside and add them back into the pot after blending the rest. The proportions are up to you. I personally like to feel the whole bits of meaty mushrooms in the bowl.

Bring to a last boil, taste and adjust for condiments, then turn off the heat. Now add the fresh parsley, chopped. You can serve it in heated bowls with a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil over it, and maybe some sour cream. Jamie Oliver's recipe calls for two tablespoons of mascarpone cheese mixed into the soup. I thought it would make it to rich and fatty so I didn't use it.

Good bread is a must. A little toasted slice of country bread makes the perfect addition to the hot bowl of mushroom soup. Enjoy!

EspressoStyle Recommends: King Arthur Flour

The amazing and passionate guys and girls at King Arthur Flour make dreamy loafs and tones of other good stuff. Check out one of the videos they posted on youtube that i just love to watch.

Esspresso Style Recommends: Bread & Roses, Paris

The Bread & Roses cafe and bakery in Paris is simply excellent! I recommend it with all my heart. On the 62 Rue Madame, 75006 Paris, France, that is right next to the Luxembourg Gardens, you can find on a little corner hidden away this little cafe, resto, bakery and tea place. When I was there with my wife we had  two cups of specialty tea (don't remember the blends), and they gave us the tea pots that allowed up to three consecutive refills and kept the brew hot for half an hour. We also had a nice little rhubarb muffin. The muffin was done just wright, more sweet then bitter, but you could still feel the rhubarb distinct flavor in it.

The space isn't that big, but what does big mean in Paris? 

The service was good, for Paris standards.

Anyway, it's a very good place, true Paris style, good food and drink and chic ambiance. After a long walk through the Luxembourg, it's just the place you would want to encounter.

Easter "pasca" (romanian speciality bread with cheese and rasin filling)

My wife baked a sweet bread with cheese and raisin filling! It's traditional in the Easter menu in Romania, but less and less people make it, as we happily join the "civilized" (read "fast food eating") wold! Happy Easter, everyone!