Bean and Mushroom Soup

This unctuous winter treat is my adaptation of a recipe that appeared on Taste of France. She can't comment on this blog due to technical reasons, but we've been communicating via her blog comments on how to tweak the recipe. She got it as an 'official truffle recipe' and chose to present it as the original, but because I resorted to shiitakes rather than truffles I felt free to modify it to my personal tastes and ingredients.

Ingredients
500 g dried white beans*
200 g fresh shiitake mushrooms
200 ml cream
An onion, finely chopped
Half a celeriac, peeled and grated
2 carrots, peeled and grated
A dash of olive oil
A litre of chicken or vegetable stock
About half a teaspoon of garlic flakes
About a teaspoon of salt
Pepper (freshly ground mixed peppercorns is good)

Method

1. Soak beans in cold water overnight.
2. Tear up the shiitake, add to the cream and blend in the food processor so the mushrooms are finely chopped. Leave to infuse overnight.
3. Drain beans, put in a large pot, cover well with water, bring to the boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for two hours.
5. Drain the beans.
6. Heat the oil in a large pot and sweat the onion, carrots and celeriac for 5 minutes.
7. Add the beans and the stock.
8. Bring to the boil, then reduce and simmer for half an hour.
9. Remove from the heat then add the creamy mushroom mix and season to taste with salt, pepper and garlic.
10. Using a stick blender, puree the soup to a thick velvety consistency.
11. Gently reheat and serve. Feeds 9.

Locally grown white beans, known as lingots.

*I had a kilo of lingots, so cooked all of them and froze half for use later.

Shiitake growing in the caves at Bourré.

Hendrick, the mushroom producer who cultivates mushrooms in a cave at Selles sur Cher. He has a stall at the markets in Loches and Amboise, and I always buy my shiitake from him.

Yum

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