Good enough for Thanksgiving: Chanterelles and root vegetable soup

As promised, we come to the third soup in our trilogy. And as promised, this one will be the most challenging to make (although it's not so hard), and it will be the most expensive one; however, let me say this of the soup: when I presented it to the Guyman, he took a spoonful and said "this is GOOD...." So, ragazzi, if I were you, I would give this one a try. We ate it, and then I decided that its flavor was such that it deserved a place on the Thanksgiving table. This post may be a little late for you to incorporate it into your Thanksgiving dinner, but after all, there's Xmas, and of course, there's always any night of the week.

This soup involves some parsnips. With brussel sprouts, they constitute the duo of vegetables which Annalena despises. But when combined with other things, they are just, just fine. Give this a try. You'll like it. And Annalena shall talk about the expensive ingredients, which are dried morels, and wild mushrooms.

First, let's start with the regular ingredients. You're going to need a couple of onions. Slice them, don't bother chopping, and then an equal amount of parsnips and carrots, chopped. The carrot should be your guide: use one that is not huge. You know the type: the one you'd pick up to snack on. Parsnips tend to be bigger, so if you're using one carrot, look for a small parsnip, or, if you like their flavor, use a big one. Clean them, and then chop them coarsely. You will also need a few branches of thyme , a bay leaf or two, and a quart and a half of broth, be it chicken or vegetable. DO know that most vegetable broths have a strong tomato element. You are also going to need a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and a couple of cloves of garlic, which you'll mince.

So far, so good. Now, where's the expense. Here we come. You need a couple of tablespoons of chopped, dried morels. Now, these really are ridiculously expensive. You can get a very small bag of them at a good grocer or fine food store, however, and if you keep them away from critters, they will last forever. It's worth the small investment. Chop those guys up until you have the requisite two tablespoons.

The other expensive ingredient, is wild mushrooms. When I say "wild" mushrooms, I do mean the foraged type, not the ones you can buy which have been "cultivated." If you make this in the spring, you can probably get morels. Chanterelles are more widely available, and you will find others, like hedgehogs, etc. Again, wild mushrooms are very expensive. I have seen them go up to 60 or 70 bucks a pound. You only need half a pound for this recipe, however, and in terms of cost, chanterelles are almost never that much. Mine were 30 bucks a pound.

Now, let's get to the cooking. Melt that butter, and add all those vegetables and herbs, and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Cook at medium heat, stirring every now and then, until you get a little browning on the vegetables.

While that is happening, bring about a cup of water to the boil, and put the crushed morels in that. Let them soak while all of this is happening. They'll be happy there.

Finally, on a burner next to the pot where you're cooking the soup vegetables, add your two tablespoons of olive oil, and a chopped up half pound of the mushrooms. Don't worry about finesse in the chopping: we're going to puree this all at the end. After about five minutes, add some salt, and those chopped garlic cloves. Cook for a couple more minutes. Put them to the side.

Remember those soup veggies? Ok, add the stock the reconstituted dried mushrooms, and the water from the mushrooms, and bring everything to a low simmer, for about twenty minutes. Your "test" ingredient here, is the parsnips. When they are melting soft, you're ready. Pull out the bay leaves, and the stems from the thyme branches. Put the cooked wild mushrooms in with everything else, and give it a big stir. Let this sit to cool for a bit, and then, get out your blender and puree this in batches.

This will give you a good quart and a half of soup, which is six cups. So if you're serving this as a first course, you have enough for six. You could also dilute it. The flavor is that strong. If you try that route, Annalena suggests half dairy (cream or creme fraiche or half and half), and stock.

Yes, this one was a little more work than the other two, and yes, it was WAY more expensive. But it all works out . If you made the split pea soup, you spent almost nothing. You have the scratch left over from the first pot of soup. Use it. Make yourself something good.

Annalena may excuse herself as she preps for Thanksgiving, but then again, she may not. If you do not see me, know that I am in the kitchen, devising new ways to get you to eat your veggies, and all else good.