Oyster Mushroom Soup

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Gather all the ingredients you'll need for this fragrant oyster mushroom soup. Wash the mushrooms thoroughly so no debris or dirt is left on them.

2. Step 2:

   

   Cut the oyster mushrooms into small pieces; you can leave the really small ones whole.

3. Step 3:

   

   Put them in a pot.

4. Step 4:

   

   Pour water into the pot. I almost always have chicken broth in my fridge, so I used that for the soup. Set the pot over high heat and wait for it to come to a boil. Then lower the heat to moderate and cook the oyster mushrooms, covered, for about 10 minutes.

5. Step 5:

   

   While the mushrooms cook, prep everything else. Peel the potatoes, carrot, and onion. Rinse the vegetables and herbs under running water.

6. Step 6:

   

   Cut the potatoes into medium-sized cubes or sticks, whichever you prefer.

7. Step 7:

   

   You can grate the carrot on a coarse grater or cut it by hand. I usually cut it into sticks because I like pieces of carrot in the finished soup. Chop the onion finely.

8. Step 8:

   

   Heat vegetable oil in a skillet. Add the onion and carrot to fry over high heat. Cook for about 1–2 minutes, stirring constantly.

9. Step 9:

   

   Turn the heat up to high. Add the potatoes to the pot of mushrooms and salt the soup to taste. Once it boils, lower the heat again and cook the soup until the potatoes are done. This will take you about 15–20 minutes.

10. Step 10:

    

    Chop the tomato as finely as you can. It's better to use a sweet variety — they give the finished dish a special flavor (I sometimes use cherry tomatoes for the soup). You can peel the tomato first if you like.

11. Step 11:

    

    When the potatoes are done, add the sautéed vegetables, the bay leaf, and the tomato to the pot. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.

12. Step 12:

    

    Meanwhile, chop the fresh herbs finely. Dill and young green onion are great with mushroom soups.

13. Step 13:

    

    Add the herbs to the soup, cover the pot, and take it off the heat. Let the finished dish rest for a while (10–15 minutes is plenty).

14. Step 14:

    

    Before serving, sprinkle the soup with ground pepper if you like.

15. Step 15:

    

    You can also add fine vermicelli to this soup at the end of cooking, then add the herbs to the pot, stir everything, and take it off the heat right away. During the 10 minutes of resting, the vermicelli will cook through. For this pot, I add 2 level tablespoons of pasta.

16. Step 16:

    

    Serve — the soup is ready!