Porcini and chestnut mushroom soup

Ingredients:

1 oz (30g) of dried porcini mushrooms

1 quart (1L) of chicken or vegetable stock

2 tablespoon of butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

7 oz (200g) of chestnut mushrooms, roughly sliced

(optional: 2 tablespoons of Madeira wine)

1 heaped tablespoon of plain flour

1 bay leaf

4 fl oz (100ml) of double cream

4 heaped tablespoons of parmesan, finely grated

2 tablespoons of fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

2 teaspoons of very finely grated lemon zest

Sea salt and black pepper

Preparation:

1. Rehydrate the porcinis in the chicken or vegetable stock for about 20 minutes.

2. Drain and roughly chop the porcinis, keeping the stock they were soaking in.

3. In a large saucepan, fry the onion and garlic in butter over a low heat, until soft and translucent. Add the chestnut mushrooms and cook over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes until softened. If desired, add the Madeira and cook until evaporated. Stir in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes.

4. Pour in the chopped porcini mushrooms, their soaking stock, and a bay leaf. Bring to a simmer then put a lid on and cook gently for about 30 minutes.

5. Once cooked, remove the bay leaf, add the cream, and liquidize. Add boiling water if necessary to bring the soup to a good consistency. Season to taste.

6. For the parmesan crisps, heat a large non-stick pan over a medium heat. Spoon the parmesan into 4 separate mounds in the pan, well spread apart. Smooth down each mound of cheese into rounds, and allow to bubble gently. As soon as they start to turn golden at the edges, remove them from the heat. Leave them in the pan to cool and crisp up then remove carefully with a spatula.

7. Serve the soup sprinkled with parsley and flecks of lemon zest, with a parmesan crisp alongside.