The other day I decided I wanted to make a pretty soup. Taking aesthetic inspiration from a soup Rohini made several months ago, and more direct inspiration Smitten Kitchen's Mushroom and Farro Soup, I ended up with the following. It was medium-pretty, and more-than-medium-tasty.
Multi-Mushroom Soup (serves 6)
In a largish bowl, put about
1.5C various dried mushrooms. I used black mushrooms and two different kinds of shiitake mushrooms. If only I'd had porcini! (Or, if I were a rich person instead of a grad student, morel.) Pour in
boiling water so that the mushrooms are submerged.
While the mushrooms are soaking, saute a
sliced carrot and a
sliced onion in
vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat, until the onions are nice and soft and starting to color. Add
two cloves of garlic, minced, and cook another minute. Add in
1/2C quinoa and toast for a minute or two. Add in
2-3C broth (I used vegetable because I had a vegetarian over),
3C water,
3Tbsp mirin,
1Tbsp tomato paste, and
1/3C white wine. Drain the mushroom water into the pot and chop the mushrooms fairly finely, removing any tough stems. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer until the quinoa is done. Finally, dump in
4-5 green onions, finely chopped, and serve.
