Although my parents chose not to baptize me, nor raise me in any sort of organized religious tradition, my grandparents were either Catholic or, in the case of my paternal grandmother (Baba Tita), Russian Orthodox. This past Thursday (January 6th) was Russian Orthodox Christmas Eve, a time when observant people break their fast with a dinner of vegan dishes containing no animal products. During most of my childhood, we ate our version of these dishes on December 24th. The stars of the Christmas Eve table were mushroom soup and sauerkraut with potato dumplings. In the early years, everyone came to our house for Christmas Eve, and my mother made the mushroom soup, while Baba Tita brought the sauerkraut. In later years, after my parents separated, either my grandmother or my Dad would make the soup. There was never a written recipe, per se, but there are the basic ingredients of dried mushrooms, fresh mushrooms, onions, carrots, and noodles.
For the noodles, my Dad liked long, thick pasta like fettucine, which inevitably leads to soup flying everywhere as you try to eat it. This year, I kept it real and used fettucine, but broke them in half. (P.S., you still need to wear your napkin as a bib.) Obviously, you can use any pasta you like, but it should be a “hearty” cut. You could also use barley or wild rice or potatoes.
In terms of the mushrooms, there are Eastern European dried mushrooms that I used to be able get in the Kosher section of the supermarket. For this recipe, I used the last of some dried porcinis that I brought back from Italy. (I announced to my husband: “Hey, I just used the last of the porcinis. Guess we have to make a trip to Italy!”) For the fresh mushrooms, I like using portobellos because they hold up well to extended simmering. They were never available years ago, so I imagine my family used button or maybe crimini.
I hadn’t made this soup in years and the last time I ate it in 2007 was also the last Christmas I spent with my Dad. When I finally tasted my finished soup last Thursday, the memories of so many holidays came rushing in. I could picture sitting at my parents’ dining table covered in the green and red plaid tablecloth my mother had made, eating from her gray and silver wedding china. Maybe the soup wasn’t exactly the same, but the mixture of the earthy mushrooms, sweet onions and carrots, and fragrant bay leaf absolutely transported me. And really, isn’t that what food and eating should be about? Remembrance, love, tradition, and family. . .all evoked by one spoonful of a simple vegan soup.
Ingredients:
2 c portobello mushrooms, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 c dried porcini mushrooms
1/2 one large yellow onion, diced
1 c sliced carrots (about 1/8″ thick)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T olive oil
4 c vegetable broth
2 T dry sherry
2 bay leaves
1.5 T flour
3 oz dry fettucine (broken in half or smaller)
soy sauce
Procedure:
Soak dried mushrooms in enough water to cover (about 1.5 cups.) Meanwhile, heat 1T olive in a 4-quart dutch oven. Add portobellos and sauté until golden brown and beginning to extrude. Set aside. Heat 1T olive oil in the same pan and add onions; sauté until translucent and add garlic; sauté until golden. Remove dried mushrooms from water, squeeze, and chop into bite-sized pieces (if needed) reserving water. Add all mushrooms to pot, along with reserved mushroom water, being careful to strain off any dirt that may remain in the bottom. Add vegetable broth, bay leaves, sherry. Season to taste with soy sauce and black pepper. Simmer for approximately 45 minutes.
In a separate pan, heat remaining 1T olive oil, add 1.5T flour and continually stir over low heat for about 10 minutes to make a roux. The flour should begin to take on a nutty smell and be light golden brown. Add this roux to the soup by first adding hot soup broth to the roux to thin it–this will avoid any chance of lumps forming. The soup should be slightly thickened.
Cook fettucine to al denté, add to soup and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add juice of 1/2 lemon. Additional garnishes could include a drizzle of truffle oil and fresh minced parsley.
Makes about 4 large-ish servings and can be doubled/tripled.
Barnacles and Balthazars 