The fabulous Greens tomato
and wild mushroom soup.

30 April 2002—This is our (un)traditional matzah-ball soup, which we picked because it’s vegetarian and because the recipe recommends serving the soup over pieces of hearty bread. Kind of like a matzah-ball effect, nu? OK, so the matzah balls aren't made with chicken fat, which makes my mom kvetch just a little, but hey, everybody absolutely loves the soup, and I’ve made it every single year, and that’s five in a row, if you’re counting.

These recipes come from The Greens Cookbook, by Deborah Madison (copyright 1987 Edward Espe Brown and Deborah Madison). It’s an excellent cookbook, as is its companion, Fields of Greens. The recipes are reprinted with generous permission by Random House, Inc. For on-line information about other Random House, Inc. books and authors, click here for their Web site.

I have included the recipes here exactly as they appear in the cookbook. However, I make certain choices about the recipes, which I think should be noted:

First, I use dried porcini and fresh button or crimini mushrooms in the stock and a combination of fresh crimini, button, portabello and shiitake mushrooms in the soup. Dried porcini are expensive but kick the crap out of dried shiitake. I have no qualms about mixing dried porcini and fresh shiitake. So sue me. Someday I’ll use fresh porcini, just for kicks.

Second, I use fresh tomatoes and herbs everywhere, because there’s a fabulous store nearby, Berkeley Bowl, that has the best produce. I don’t peel and seed the tomatoes, ok? I tried that once when I attempted to replicate a Zachary’s pizza, and that is likely the last time I will ever undergo such torture. (I later found out they used canned tomatoes, but I still love that freakin’ pizza.)

Third, I don’t use the sun-dried tomato in the soup. Dude, they said it was optional.

Fourth, in the soup, to the onion I add the white parts of the leeks whose greens are used in the stock. Cut in 1/4 inch strips. Yum!

Fifth, instead of the bread, of course, I make matzah balls. Get a box of matzah meal, follow the recipe on the box or use whatever recipe you want to get the mixture ready to make the balls. When the soup comes to a boil, form the balls and plop them in. As with the deepening of the soup flavors, the longer you leave the matzah balls to soak up the soup, the better they’ll be. Grandma would be so proud, dahlink.

Sixth, the recipe says it serves four to six, which is fairly accurate for a main course. I always double the recipe, which is a hehhhhhhl of a lot of chopping, but it is unbelievably worth it.

Seventh, a note about straining the stock. I recommend first getting all the liquid separated from the vegetables and herbs. Use caution in squeezing out the vegetables to get the most liquid — the vegetables stay hot for quite some time. Once you’ve got the liquid by itself, it will still have a fair amount of grit in it. Unless you have some super-duper sieve, a great trick is to line a strainer with a paper towel and strain the stock through that. You’ll go through a fair number of paper towels, but you’ll have a pretty clear, clean stock. If you ask me, it’s already plenty rich, but you can try the caramelized variation if you’re feeling dangerous.

Final note: the recipe takes quite a long time. I make the stock a day ahead of the soup, just to break it up a little. If you’re making a single recipe, give yourself about three and a half hours. If you’re making a double recipe, give yourself at least four hours, as there’s more to cut, and sautéeing the mushrooms for the soup will have to be done in batches. Do not save yourself time by using store-bought stock — the stock is the key to the whole thing. I would also recommend letting the soup sit, as the recipe suggests. Fortunately for us, the soup is done hours before we eat it, so everything has blended together nicely. It’s even better the next day.

Enjoy!

The stock:
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 1/2 tablespooks olive oil
4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced or chopped (optional)
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 medium onion, chopped into 1/2 inch squares
1/2 cup leek greens, roughly chopped
     into 1-inch pieces (optional)
4 to 6 thyme branches or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
6 branches parsley, roughly chopped
3 sage leaves or large pinch dried sage
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
9 cups cold water

Cover the dried mushrooms with 1 cup hot water and set them aside. Heat the olive oil in a soup pot, add the vegetables, herbs, garlic, salt, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. Next add the dried mushrooms and their soaking liquid plus the 9 cups cold water, and bring to a boil; then simmer for 45 minutes. Strain the stock through a fine-meshed sieve. Use it as is or return it to the stove and reduce it further to intensify the flavor as much as desired. Generally it takes about 15 minutes at a slow boil to reduce the volume of liquid by a cup.

Variation: for a darker-colored stock, caramelize the onion separately first. Heat the oil, add the onion, and cook it until it has turned a very dark brown, stirring occasionally at first, then more frequently as it gets darker. Add the remaining ingredients plus the water, bring to a boil, cook as above, and strain.

The soup:
1 large red onion
4 tablespoons virgin olive oil
6 branches thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 teaspoons fresh marjoram leaves, chopped,
     or 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
14 ounces mushrooms: porcini or
    cultivated field mushrooms, sliced 1/4 inch thick
Salt
1 large clove garlic, pounded in a mortar
1 pound ripe tomatoes or 1 pound canned tomatoes,
     peeled, seeded, and chopped; juice reserved
6 to 7 cups stock (recipe above)
2 sun-dried tomatoes, pureed (optional)
Pepper
Thinly-sliced baguette, 2 slices per person
Fresh thyme or marjoram leaves, chopped, for garnish
Parmesan Reggiano, freshly grated, for garnish

Halve the onion and divide each lengthwise into thirds. Slice each third crosswise into thin pieces (this size will sit comfortably in a soup spoon). Warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a soup pot, and slowly cook the onion over low heat with the thyme and marjoram until the onion is melted.

While the onion is cooking, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet and when hot, add the mushrooms. Toss them immediately to distribute the oil. Salt lightly and cook them over medium-high heat until they begin to release their juices.

Add the mushrooms to the onion along with the garlic, tomatoes, salt, and a cup of the stock. Cover and stew slowly for 20 minutes. Add the remaining stock, any reserved tomato juice, and the puréed sun-dried tomato, if using. Bring to a boil and simmer 25 minutes.

If possible, let the soup sit an hour or more before serving to allow the flavors to soften and merge. Taste for salt and season with freshly ground black pepper. Brush the bread with olive oil and toast in a hot oven. Serve the soup over the bread garnished with the fresh herbs, and pass the Parmesan cheese.

Variations: If you have chanterelle mushrooms, clean them and boil the pairings in the water and use that for the stock, seasoned with thyme and bay leaves as in the Wild Mushroom Stock. For a soup with a different kind of mushroom flavor, use a combination of fresh and dried shiitake. Use the dried shiitake in place of the porcini in the stock; then remove them, slice them into pieces, and cook them with the fresh mushrooms in the soup.

Serves four to six.