marcia (colo lady) sent me a wonderful cookbook from one of her favorite restaurants, "the greens" in san francisco. the first thing i tried was wonderful and thought you guys might like it too. i love the flavor of dried porcinis and locally, they are pretty darned pricey. but a couple of years ago, ginger gave a site which sells both whole and "pieces" and i found them to be a very good buy and attached the link below. the stock recipe makes enough for both the soup and the sauce recipes.

Mushroom Stock

1 oz dried porcinis

1 T olive oil

4 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional)

2 medium carrots, peeled & diced

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

½ C of leek greens, coarsely chopped

4 to 6 thyme branches or ¼ tsp dried thyme

2 bay leaves

6 branches of parsley, roughly chopped

3 sage leaves or a large pinch of dried sage

2 cloves of chopped garlic

1 tsp salt

9 C cold water

Pour 1 C of hot water over the dried porcinis and set them aside.

Heat the olive oil in a stock pot and add the vegetables, herbs, garlic and saltÂcook over medium high heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.

Add the dried mushrooms and their soaking liquid plus the 9 C of cold water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 45 minutes.

Strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve and use as it is or return it to the stove and reduce it further, if desired.

Mushroom, Leek & Potato Soup

Prepare the wild mushroom stock above. In place of the onion, use 1 ½ C chopped leek greens. Fresh wild mushroom stems can be used instead of the dried mushrooms.

3 T butter

1 small red onion, coarsely chopped

3 leeks, white part only, sliced in ¼" rounds or half rounds

1# potatoes, thinly sliced

salt

6 C stock

1 T olive oil

8 to 12 oz mushrooms, chopped or sliced

½ C dry white wine

pepper

½ to 1 C light or heavy cream (optional)

Garnish with chopped fresh parsley, chervil, tarragon or thyme

Mix 2 T butter in a stockpot and add the onions and leeks. Cook them over high heat for several minutes, stirring frequently; then lower the heat and add the potatoes, 1 tsp salt and 2 C of stock. Cover the pot and stew the vegetables over low heat for 10 minutes.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of butter and the olive oil in a wide skillet. Add the mushrooms and sauté them over high heat until they begin to release their juices. Add ½ tsp salt and the wine. Cook until the wine is reduced and syrupy (that never happened for me, even though I cooked for at least 20 minutes). Scrape the mushrooms into the stockpot and add the remaining 4 C of stock. Bring to a boil; then cover and simmer slowly, until the potatoes are completely soft (about 25 minutes).

Taste for seasoning. Add the cream if using and heat through. Serve garnished with fresh herbs.

Wild Mushroom Sauce

2 T butter

2 T flour

3 C wild mushroom stock

1 T tomato sauce (I didnÂt have any and added a bit of chicken stock)

4 T cream or crème fraiche (optional)

salt & pepper

Melt the butter in a saucepan, then stir in the flour and cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly. Bring the mushroom stock to a boil; then whisk into the cooled roux. Stir in the tomato and the cream or crème fraiche, if using. Season with salt & pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, for 20 to 25 minutes.