A kind man who farms cattle and sheep near Tarkastad but is also blessed with a magnificent haul of mushrooms once a year brought me masses of horse mushrooms this week, as well as a magnificent cep. Here’s what I did with that lovely porcini.

Ingredients

3 Tbsp butter

1 large red onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 heaped Tbsp flour

800 g porcini mushrooms, roughly chopped

250 ml dry white wine

500 ml mushroom stock

150 ml Cape Tawny Port

250 ml cream

3 thyme sprigs, the picked leaves of

Salt and white pepper to taste

Croutons (bread cubes) cooked in butter and then tossed in chopped parsley, ¼ tsp crushed garlic, salt and black pepper

Method

Mushroom stock can be bought commercially, but I made my own using 2 kg chopped mushrooms cooked with 3 carrots, 2 celery sticks, an onion (all chopped), covered with water and allowed to boil away until there was 500 ml left. That magnificent dark liquid in the jug is the result.

Sauté the onion and garlic very gently in butter until just softened. Stir in 1 heaped Tbsp flour.

Add the chopped porcini and raise the heat to moderately high. Cook briskly while stirring, for a couple of minutes. When you can see the mushrooms releasing their juices, turn it down to a moderate heat and let the juice come out and mostly cook away.

Add the white wine and thyme, increase the heat, and reduce by two thirds.

Add the stock and reduce by half.

Add the port and cream and simmer for a good while until the soup enriches. It should attain a pleasing sheen and thicken nicely. Serve with croutons. DM/TGIFood

Tony Jackman is Galliova Food Champion 2021. His book, foodSTUFF, is available in the DM Shop. Buy it here. 

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