Mushroom Soup With Port - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 ounce dried wild mushrooms (such as shiitake or porcini)
4 cups chicken broth or 4 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3/4 lb cremini mushroom, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
salt
white pepper
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 cup half-and-half
5 tablespoons tawny port or 5 tablespoons dry sherry
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Preparation

In a saucepan, combine the dried mushrooms and broth; bring to a boil.
Cover and simmer for 5 minutes; lift the mushrooms out of the pan.
Strain the broth into a bowl and add the mushrooms to the broth; set aside.
In a soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add in the onion; saute/stir for 3 minutes, or until soft.
Add in the cremini mushrooms; stir/saute for another 3 minutes, until softened.
Sprinkle with the flour, salt, and pepper.
Stir for 1 minute to cook the flour and coat the mushrooms.
Whisk in the strained broth, with the mushrooms; add in the soy sauce; simmer for 15 minutes, partially covered.
With a hand blender, blend the soup until it is roughly pureed, with some texture remaining.
Add in half-and-half and port; bring to a simmer; simmer for 2 minutes, or until the alcohol has burned off; taste for seasoning.
To serve, ladle into soup bowls; garnish with chopped parsley.