Recipe: Mushroom Minestrone with Mascarpone Dumplings

MUSHROOM MINESTRONE WITH MASCARPONE DUMPLINGS

"This soup is so rich and delicious that you need not feel obligated to make the dumplings. If you do, however, you will have prepared a truly memorable dish. This soup is a perfect combination of earthy and sweet flavors that could easily be served as a filling main-course dish for 4 people, accompanied by a loaf of crusty Italian bread and a salad of bitter greens."

8 cups Chicken Stock
1 Sachet (recipe follows)
1 1/2 bulbs Roasted Garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup carrots in 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup Napa cabbage in 1/2-inch dice
1/2 cup spinach in 1/2-inch dice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup quartered fresh morels*
3/4 cup split fresh chanterelles*
3/4 cup fresh oyster mushrooms*, cut in 1/2-inch dice
1/2 cup peeled, seeded, and diced tomato
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Coarse salt
Pepper
1 recipe Mascarpone Dumplings (recipe follows)
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Place the stock, sachet, and roasted garlic in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Immediately lower heat and gently simmer for 40 minutes, or until liquid is reduced by one-third. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large saut pan over medium heat. Add the carrot and saut for 6 minutes.

Stir in the cabbage and saut for another 5 minutes.

Add the spinach and saut for 3 minutes. Scrape the vegetables into the reduced stock. Place pot over very low heat.

Place a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.

Place butter in the same pan in which you saut ed the vegetables. Place over medium heat. When butter is melted, add all of the mushrooms and saut for about 5 minutes, or until slightly softened.

Stir in the tomato, basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Raise heat and shake pan to toss mixture for about 1 minute.

Scrape into the stock mixture. Taste soup and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Raise heat to bring soup just to a simmer.

Lay out 6 warm, flat soup bowls.

When salted water is boiling, add dumplings and boil for 2 minutes, or until tender. Using a slotted spoon, lift out 3 dumplings at a time, and shake to drain off water.

Place 3 dumplings in each of the soup bowls. Ladle equal portions of soup over the dumplings in each bowl. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

*NOTE:
If you can't find all of the mushrooms called for in this recipe, use a combination of whatever types you can find. If only button mushrooms are available, use 1/4 cup of dried porcini mushrooms that have been reconstituted in some of the reduced chicken stock. Strain and return the stock to the pot to ensure a rich mushroom flavor.

Serves 6

FOR THE SACHET:
A sachet, or bouquet garni, is a group of herbs tied together or placed in a cheesecloth bag to be used to flavor sauces, soups, or stews. The tying or bagging facilitates herbs' easy removal from the pot. The traditional mix is parsley, thyme, and bay leaf. When my recipes call for a sachet, you will need a bunch of parsley stems about the size of your little finger, 10 peppercorns, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, and 2 bay leaves tied in a cheesecloth bag.

MASCARPONE DUMPLINGS
Makes 20

Since these can be made early in the day, they are an easy last-minute addition to a soup broth.

1 sheet fresh Semolina Pasta dough or commercially prepared fresh pasta dough
1 large egg
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
Coarse salt
Pepper

Cut pasta dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel to keep it from drying out.

Using a fork, beat egg in a small bowl. Set aside.

Mix mascarpone with salt and pepper to taste.

Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.

Lay the pasta squares out in a single layer on a clean, flat surface. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat each square with the egg. Place 1/2 tablespoon of mascarpone in the center of each square. Fold pasta over cheese to make a triangle. Pinch edges together to seal them closed. Pull the 2 corner tips up to form a dumpling shape. Place on prepared baking sheet in a cool, dry place until ready to cook as directed in master recipe.

Source: Great American Food by Charlie Palmer with Judith Choate