We met Amy Farges of Marche Aux Delices at the San Francisco Fancy Food Show earlier this week and couldn’t get enough of the croutons slathered
in rich, truffle butter that she was handing out. As it turns out, this lady really knows her ‘shrooms and even wrote a cookbook about them!
Here’s just one of the lovely recipes you can find in The Mushroom Lovers’ Mushroom Cookbook and Primer.

The steaming succor provided by this naturally-thickened potage make it a wonderful cold-weather meal. Just about any exotic mushroom will give the broth a substantial kick. Add whole-grain bread and a plate of cheese to make it a meal. Some or all of the button mushrooms can be replaced with trimmings–such as stems from portobello or shiitake mushrooms–that you’ve saved from other recipes.

Ingredients:

Serves 8

  • 2 pounds assorted fresh wild or cultivated mushrooms, such as chanterelle, shiitake, porcini, and oyster
  • 2 pounds button mushrooms
  • 8 cups water
  • 1/3 cup wheat berries
  • 1/3 cup red lentils
  • 1/3 cup quinoa
  • 5 tablespoons Natural Duck Fat
  • 8 shallots, sliced thin (about 2 cups)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup Madeira
  • 1/2 cup fresh chopped herbs, such as tarragon, thyme, chives, dill, parsley
  • 6 tablespoons flour
  • 4 tablespoons Aux Délices des Bois Black or White Truffle Butter
  1. Clean and trim the wild mushrooms, placing all the trimmings in a large soup pot. Slice the caps 1/4-inch thick and set aside.
  2. Add the button mushrooms and water to the soup pot. Boil vigorously until the liquid is reduced by half, about 30 minutes. Strain the mushroom stock into a large, heavy saucepan. Push hard on the mushrooms to extract as much stock as possible. Discard these spent mushrooms.
  3. Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the wheat berries and cook 1 minute. Add the lentils and cook one more minute. Stir in the quinoa and cook until all the grains are tender, about 6 minutes. Drain the grains and place in a medium bowl.
  4. In a large sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoons of the duck fat over high heat. Sauté the prepared wild mushrooms one minute, until they give up some liquid. Add half the shallots and the garlic and cook over medium heat until the pan is dry, about 6 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  5. Turn heat to high, pour the Madeira into the pan and quickly stir, loosening up any bits that have stuck to the bottom. Over medium heat, cook until the liquid is reduced by half.
  6. Dredge the remaining sliced shallots in the flour until coated and shake off the excess. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons duck fat in a very small saucepan until it begins to pop. Drop in the shallots and fry until crisp and golden brown, about 4 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels.
  7. Combine the grains, mushrooms and half the fresh herbs with the mushroom stock. (It’s a good idea to combine everything no sooner than a half hour before serving, because when the grains sit in the liquid, they drink it all up.) Bring the soup to a boil and boil until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.  If the soup becomes too thick, just add water, simmer a few minutes and adjust the seasoning. Serve hot, sprinkling the remaining herbs, the fried shallots, and a pat of black or white truffle butter over the top.

© Amy Farges, The Mushroom Lover’s Mushroom Cookbook and Primer (Workman 2000)

Click here to buy The Mushroom Lovers’ Mushroom Cookbook and Primer

 Click Here for More Soups of the Week