mushroom bisque

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds button and cremini mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

1 medium onion, diced

1 Tbsp olive oil

¼ cup dry sherry

¼ tsp finely chopped fresh thyme

5-6 cups vegetable or chicken broth

4 ounces shitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

1 large shallot, peeled and sliced into rounds

1 Tbsp butter

White truffle oil

Directions:

Sauté sliced button and cremini mushrooms with the onion in the olive oil in a large skillet with a big pinch of kosher salt over medium heat until tender and just beginning to brown. Add sherry and thyme. Sauté until sherry is almost evaporated.

Transfer mushroom mixture to a medium stockpot. Add 5 cups of broth (or to cover) and simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and carefully puree with a hand blender until just smooth but still has texture. Thin with additional broth if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate over night. Gently reheat before serving.

Sauté the shitake mushrooms with the shallot rounds in a tablespoon of butter until they begin to brown. Set aside for a garnish. Can be made an hour ahead of time and left at room temperature (or cover and refrigerate and gently re-warm in the microwave on 50% power).

To serve, ladle soup into bowls and garnish with a tablespoon of warm shitake shallot mixture. Drizzle with white truffle oil.

Serves 4-6

Note- to make this vegan use vegetable broth and substitute 1 Tbsp olive oil for the 1 Tbsp butter