By Karen Croyle

Yield: 5 servings

Ingredients:
4-6 cups Grifola frondosa (or other
mushroom), cleaned and diced
2 tablespoons butter
32 ounces chicken or beef stock, canned or
homemade
1-2 cups cream (depends on your taste—I
use 2)
1/4 cup cold water
1/4 cup cornstarch

Directions:

Sauté the diced mushroom in butter for 20–30 minutes. (G. frondosa responds well to long, slow cooking; other mushrooms will not take as long.) In a large pot, combine the stock and cream. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. When the mushroom is done, take 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the cooked mushroom and purée it in a food processor until fine. Add the puréed and diced mushroom to the stock/cream mixture and bring to a boil. Mix together the cold water and cornstarch until smooth. Slowly add this to the boiling soup, stirring constantly until thickened. You can add more of the cornstarch and cold water mixture until the soup is the desired thickness. Serve.