Right before the holidays, we always make giant batches of porcini mushroom soup at our stores. I think of these prized mushrooms as an indulgence that fits perfectly with the holiday theme of celebration. They have a distinctive, deep, woodsy flavor that permeates anything in which they are used. Almost any Christmas dinner entrée can follow a festively-presented bowl of this soup.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter
4 whole cloves garlic, peeled
1 large Spanish onion, peeled and diced
2 leeks (white part only), trimmed and sliced
1 bulb fresh fennel or anise, diced
3 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into3/4-inch chunks
1 cup dried or 2 pounds fresh porcinimushrooms
6 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 cup sherry
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground blackpepper, to taste

Directions:

In a stockpot melt the butter over mediumhigh heat. Add the garlic, onion, leeks, and fennel. Sauté for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes, mushrooms, chicken stock, and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the potatoes are soft and tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the sherry, cream, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Puree with a hand blender or working in batches with a regular blender until smooth. Place the pot back on the stove and simmer an additional 5 to 7 minutes to warm through.

Makes 6 to 8 servings. Fresh porcini mushrooms can be hard to track down and are quite expensive. I have found that dried porcini mushrooms work just as well in this recipe. They can be added right to the soup without pre-soaking.