Cheese soup with porcini mushrooms

Wash porcini mushrooms under running water, cleaning them from dirt and everything superfluous. Then dry and thoroughly clean them from unsuitable areas with a knife. Cut into medium-sized slices (slightly finely).

Peel and wash the onion and garlic. Chop the onion into cubes, and crush the garlic with the flat part of a knife and cut into small pieces.

Turn on the oven at 150-160 degrees.

In a saucepan with a thick bottom, melt a piece of butter and pour the chopped onion into it. Fry the onion over medium heat until soft and transparent for 5 minutes.

Pour the sherry into a saucepan and continue cooking it with the onion until the alcohol and the characteristic smell of alcohol evaporate, about 1-2 minutes.

Next, add garlic, thyme and porcini mushrooms to the pan. Mix everything well and fry over medium heat for 20 minutes until the mushrooms release the juice. Then add water, cover the pan with a lid and simmer the soup for about half an hour.

After the specified time, remove the pan from the heat and cool the contents a little. Transfer the soup to the bowl of a blender or food processor and grind it until smooth.

Return the ground soup to the pan and add cream to it. Put the soup on the fire and bring the contents to a boil. Then season the mushroom soup with salt and pepper to taste and add a little lemon juice and grated parmesan. Mix everything well and remove from heat.

Prepare croutons for mushroom soup. To do this, cut a loaf into thin slices (it is better to take a French baguette). Place the slices of bread on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put a spoonful of cheese with blue mold on each piece of the loaf. Put the baking sheet in the preheated oven for 2-3 minutes, until the cheese melts and the croutons become golden and crispy.

Pour the porcini mushroom soup into soup plates and put in each pair of slices of toast with blue cheese. Bon appetit!