Wild Mushroom Soup

Winter is not my favorite season, but there’s one redeeming factor…I get to make and enjoy soups like this wild mushroom soup. It’s the perfect meal in a bowl, with its thick mushroom broth, chunky rice, and a touch of crunchy Facon garnish. This soup is guaranteed to warm you up from the inside out.—Sarah

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1-2 marrow bones or pieces of flanken
1 pint button mushrooms, diced
2 cups diced Portobello mushrooms
4 potatoes, diced
½ cup dried crimini or shiitake mushrooms
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 tablespoons dried parsley
4 cups vegetable or beef broth
½ package diced beef Facon or duck fry
2-3 cups water
1½ cups wild rice
salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium–low heat. Add onions and sauté for 5 minutes. Add marrow bones, fresh mushrooms, and potatoes. Mix together with a wooden spoon, cover pot, and let vegetables sweat in pot for 8-10 minutes.
2. Uncover pot, raise temperature to medium–high, and add the dried mushrooms, thyme, parsley, broth, and water. Mix and bring everything to a rolling boil.
3. Lower heat and let cook on stovetop for about 30 minutes.
4. Remove marrow bones from soup.
5. Using an immersion blender, blend soup to desired thickness.
6. Add rice and cook for another 25 minutes, until rice is cooked (you might want to add a little water if you like a more liquidy soup). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. While soup is cooking, preheat oven to 350ºF. Spread Facon on a baking sheet and bake in oven until crisp. Cut into bite-sized pieces. Use as a garnish on top of soup.

Yield: 8 servings