Wild Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

• 4
  
  ounces Dried Wild Mushrooms
  
• 4
  
  cups Boiling Water
  
• 8
  
  cups Chicken Stock
  
• 4
  
  cups Beef Stock
  
• 1/4
  
  cup Butter
  
• 1
  
  pound White Button Mushrooms – cleaned, trimmed & sliced
  
• 1
  
  pound Baby Portabella Mushrooms – cleaned, trimmed & quartered
  
• 1/3
  
  cup Madeira Wine
  
• 1
  
  cup Pearl Barley
  
• 1
  
  tablespoon Lemon Juice
  
• 2
  
  cups Sour Cream
  
• 2
  
  tablespoons All Purpose Flour
  
• 
  
  Kosher Salt
  
• 
  
  Freshly Ground Black Pepper
  

Directions

1. Pour Boiling Water over Dried Wild Mushrooms in a large heatproof bowl and soak for one hour. After the one hour soak, pull the soaked Wild Mushrooms up and out of the soaking liquid, reserving the liquid. Put the soaked Wild Mushrooms into a mesh strainer and gently rinse off any clinging grit, give them a rough chop and set aside. Rinse off the strainer.
2. Set a coffee filter in the strainer and place it over an eight quart stock pot. Slowly pour the soaking liquid from the Wild Mushrooms through the filter and into the pot along with the Chicken and Beef Stocks.
3. Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and sauté White Button and Baby Portabella Mushrooms until just beginning to moisten then add the reconstituted and chopped Wild Mushrooms and cook until tender – do not overcook. Reduce heat to low and add ? cup of Madeira, stirring until the wine is mostly absorbed and then add the contents of sauté pan to stock pot.
4. Rinse and drain Pearl Barley and add to pot along with Lemon Juice. Bring stock pot to boil over Medium-High heat, stir just to blend contents, cover and reduce heat to simmer for one hour.
5. In a medium mixing bowl, thoroughly combine Sour Cream and Flour and then whisk in about a cup of the hot soup liquid, to temper the Sour Cream mixture. Add the tempered Sour Cream mixture to the hot soup, whisking to incorporate completely. Increase heat to medium-high and continue to gently whisk until the soup begins to boil. Remove from heat, adjust seasonings with Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.