Meggyleves – Hungarian sour cherry soup
Sweet or savoury? It hardly matters — this traditional Hungarian summer soup is above all...
Porcini Soup with Mushrooms and Leeks
German chef Manuel Ulrich from the 1 Michelin-star restaurant Ösch Noir serves a fine porcini mushroom soup. When porcini are in season, this is the ideal dish to make to celebrate their unique flavour and texture.
For the soup
| Ingredients (4 servings) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 30 | g | dried porcini mushrooms |
| 350 | g | fresh porcini mushrooms, chopped |
| 50 | g | brown button mushrooms, chopped |
| 40 | g | shallots, chopped |
| 40 | g | leek, chopped |
| 3 | handful | garlic, chopped |
| 30 | g | butter |
| 50 | ml | white wine |
| 50 | ml | white Port wine |
| 30 | ml | Madeira |
| 750 | ml | vegetable stock |
| 150 | ml | double cream |
| 2 | teaspoon(s) | picked thyme leaves |
| salt | ||
| pepper | ||
| 1 | pinch(es) | sugar |
| 1 | splash(es) | Chardonnay vinegar |
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in 200ml hot water for 15 minutes. Season the fresh porcini and button mushrooms with salt and roast them in the oven for 20–25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the butter in a pan and gently cook the shallots, leek and garlic.
- Squeeze the soaked porcini mushrooms dry (reserve the mushroom stock). Add the roasted and soaked mushrooms to the pan then pour in the white wine, white Port and Madeira and cook over a high heat, stirring, until the liquid is reduced.
- Add the vegetable stock and half of the reserved mushroom stock (save the rest for the pickled mushrooms, below), turn down the heat and continue to simmer.
- Towards the end of the cooking time, add the cream and thyme leaves.
- Use a hand-held blender to blend the soup until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve into the cleaned pan.
- To finish, season with salt, pepper, sugar and a little Chardonnay vinegar and blend again until frothy.
For the mushroom balls
| Ingredients (4 servings) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 150 | g | porcini mushrooms, cleaned and finely chopped |
| 100 | g | button mushrooms, cleaned and finely chopped |
| 30 | g | shallots, finely chopped |
| 40 | g | butter |
| 20 | ml | Madeira |
| 2 | handful | garlic, finely chopped |
| salt | ||
| pepper | ||
| 2 | teaspoon(s) | picked thyme leaves |
| 100 | g | flour, for breading |
| 2 | eggs, lightly beaten, for breading | |
| 100 | g | breadcrumbs, for breading |
| oil, for frying | ||
- Heat the butter in a pan, then gently cook the shallots, stirring, until translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook over a medium heat, stirring, until all the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the garlic for the last minute of cooking.
- Pour in the Madeira and boil until most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Add the thyme leaves, season with salt and pepper and leave the mixture to cool.
- When cool, divide the mixture into equal portions, about the size of a walnut, and form into balls.
- Dip the balls first into the flour, then into the egg, then roll in the breadcrumbs to coat.
- Heat the oil in a deep pan until a breadcrumb sizzles when added. Fry the mushroom balls in batches and drain on paper towels. Keep warm.
For the leeks
| Ingredients (4 servings) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 200 | g | leeks, cleaned and cut into fine julienne |
| 30 | g | butter |
| baby leeks | ||
| salt | ||
| 1 | pinch(es) | sugar |
| splash(es) | lemon juice | |
- Heat the butter in a pan, add the juilenned leeks and sauté, adding a splash or two of water, until slightly al dente.
- Halve the baby leeks lengthwise and cut into segments.
- Char these with a cook's blowtorch. Season with salt, sugar and a little lemon juice.
For the pickled beech mushrooms
| Ingredients (4 servings) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 50 | g | beech (shimeji) mushrooms, trimmed |
| 100 | ml | dried mushroom stock (from soup, above) |
| 10 | ml | aged soya sauce |
- Bring the mushroom stock to the boil with the soy sauce.
- Add the beech mushrooms, turn off the heat and leave to infuse briefly. The mushrooms can then be used immediately or preserved in a jar.
For the garnish and to serve
| Ingredients (4 servings) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 75 | g | porcini mushrooms, halved lengthwise |
| 75 | g | button mushrooms, sliced |
| 4 | spring onions, sliced | |
| 1 | tablespoon(s) | butter |
- Heat the butter in a pan. Score the cut sides of the porcini mushrooms into a lattice pattern using the tip of a sharp knife. Cook the porcini in the butter until golden.
- Pour the soup into bowls and serve with the mushroom balls, leeks, pickled beech mushrooms and browned porcini.
- Garnish with the raw sliced mushrooms and the sliced spring onion.
