WILD MUSHROOM SOUP

Steps:

• Clean all the mushrooms before chopping (wipe with damp paper towel, or remove dirt with small mushroom brush).
• Melt butter and olive oil in soup pot on medium heat.
• Add shallot, cook until beginning to caramelize, stirring infrequently.
• Add mushrooms, thyme, salt, and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have released their liquid and liquid has mostly evaporated.
• Add broth and any soaking liquid, scraping up browned bits. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, and cook until mushrooms are tender. Adjust seasoning.
• Remove from heat, cool slightly. Puree soup with stand blender (in batches) or immersion blender until smooth. (Add more liquid if you want it thinner: broth or water would do.).
• Serve.
• NOTES * I used a combination of fresh mushrooms including cremini, chanterelle, hen of the woods (maitake), and beech (bunashimeji). For depth of flavor, I added some some dried shiitake mushrooms. Soak dried mushrooms in 1-2 cups hot water for 30-60 minutes before use; add the liquid with the broth (discard sediment; if using shiitakes, discard stems too, they are tough). * Instead of separating the thyme leaves, you can just tie a bunch of sprigs together and fish the bundle out before pureeing. * The original recipes suggested leaving it half-pureed and "rustic" but I found it grainy so I pureed it completely. * This soup can be made ahead. Reserve 1-2 cups broth and add it while reheating on medium-low. * This is what I did for garnish per serving. When the butter and olive oil were hot, I cooked some pretty slices of cremini and reserved them. On each serving I drizzled about 1 tsp cream, eyedroppered very few drops of truffle oil, sprinkled a couple of thyme leaves, and floated a reserved mushroom slice.