We decided that after a meat-heavy couple of months, it was time for a week’s worth of vegetarian meals. So we started off with tonight’s soup, adapted from a recipe in Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. This recipe is chock full o’ shrooms, makes the house smell fantastic, and best of all, is extremely easy to make. Most of the time goes toward simmering the soup until the rice is cooked through. Definitely recommended for you mushroom lovers out there.

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Lisa says:

I heart mushrooms!

Chris says:

Especially in this soup; this is great!

Lisa says:

I like that we got to use the porcini oil that Cathy and Chris got us, and the porcini salt!

Chris says:

Too bad we didn’t have porcini onions, porcini garlic, or porcini rice!

Lisa says:

You joke, but you know we’d use them if those existed.

Chris says:

True, true.

Lisa says:

Anyway, this is so, so delicious. I like the carrots in it, too — you really can’t taste them very much, but it adds color. It’s also really healthy!

Chris says:

Even if you have more than one serving? Not that it matters, I’m having more regardless… 😉

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Porcini & Wild Rice Soup
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
2 cups boiling water
1 tbsp olive oil (porcini-infused, if you have it!)
1 large yellow onion, sliced thinly
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp Herbes de Provence
1 tbsp salt (porcini-style, if you have it!)
freshly ground pepper
8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 1/2 cups wild rice
4 cups vegetable broth, plus extra if needed
1 carrot, peeled

Place the dried porcinis in a bowl and cover with the boiling water. Cover the bowl with a plate and set aside.
Preheat a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the oil and saute the onions for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are browned.
Add the sliced creminis and saute for about 3 minutes. Remove the porcinis from the bowl with a fork, slice thinly, and add to the pot, along with the soaking liquid. Add the wild rice and vegetable stock. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes.
When the rice is tender, grate the carrot into the soup, turn off the heat, and let sit for 10 minutes. Add more broth if the soup seems too thick. Ladle into bowls and serve.

6 Servings