Wild Mushroom Soup

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Gather the ingredients for the soup. It's a mushroom soup, and we'll make it with wild mushrooms — I have aspen boletes and a couple of birch boletes. The mushrooms should be fresh, not old, with firm, springy caps. Medium-sized vegetables (my potatoes aren't all the same, so I have two small ones and one bigger). Butter for sautéing the vegetables. Vermicelli is optional — the soup won't suffer without it.

2. Step 2:

   

   Sort through the wild mushrooms, clean off any debris and bits of dirt, and rinse them under running water. Then cut the mushrooms into pieces, cutting out any wormy spots. Cut the stems into rounds, small caps into two, larger ones into four. Cover the cut mushrooms with cold water and let them sit. If you suspect there are still wormy spots with the worms inside, soak the mushrooms in salted water for half an hour.

3. Step 3:

   

   Cover the clean cut mushrooms with cold water and set them over medium heat to cook for 1 hour, remembering to skim off the foam as it cooks. If all the mushrooms stayed intact and you didn't have to throw out any wormy parts, use 2.5–3 liters of water. If you did have to discard some, use a little less water so the broth stays rich.

4. Step 4:

   

   After an hour of cooking the mushrooms, peel the potatoes, cut them into cubes, and add them to the soup. Keep cooking the soup.

5. Step 5:

   

   Peel the onion, carrot, and garlic. Rinse and chop the vegetables: cut the carrot into rounds or half-rounds, and finely chop the onion and garlic. Melt the butter in a skillet and sauté the chopped vegetables in it until golden.

6. Step 6:

   

   Add the sautéed vegetables to the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you like, add allspice and a bay leaf. Stir everything and keep cooking the soup for another ten minutes.

7. Step 7:

   

   When the soup is almost done, add the vermicelli and stir. Taste again for salt, then you can turn off the heat, cover the soup, and let it sit for a few minutes. You don't have to add vermicelli — it's optional. But with it the soup comes out heartier and more homey.

8. Step 8:

   

   Serve the soup hot, ladling it into each bowl and being sure to include some mushrooms. You can add fresh sour cream and fresh herbs to each bowl, and offer bread on the side.