The master of seasonal cooking, Skye Gyngell shares her recipe for a hearty potato & porcini soup. Now this is alliteration at its tastiest
Ingredients
• 1kg/2lb roseval potatoes
• 60ml/21/2fl oz extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 bunch of rosemary
• 1 dried chilli, crumbled
• Sea salt
• 100g/31/2oz dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 250ml/8fl oz warm water
• 150g/5oz grated Parmesan
Method
1 Scrub clean the potatoes and, without peeling, cut into quarter-inch rounds. Place a heavy-based pan over a medium heat, add a tablespoon of the olive oil and add the shallots. Turn the heat to low and cook the shallots for five minutes, stirring from time to time.
2 Now add the garlic, branches of rosemary and the dried chilli. Cook for a further 15 minutes over a low heat, then add a good pinch of salt and the potatoes. Pour in the water in which you have soaked the porcini and cook until the potatoes are tender. Don’t worry if it seems as though there is very little water.
3 Once the potatoes are tender, add the porcini themselves, the rest of the olive oil and the Parmesan. Taste for seasoning; it will need a little salt. Serve in warmed bowls with crusty, peasant-style bread.
Recipe courtesy of Skye Gyngell, owner of Spring restaurant & Culinary Director of Heckfield Place
