The ultimate Autumn comfort: a mushroom and noodle soup

We all know that chicken broth is a cure-all dish. Common in most Eastern European countries, and hence in Ashkenazi cuisine as well, it’s often lovingly referred to as Jewish penicillin. While I have been raised on the loveliest ‘penicillin’ thanks to my Jewish great- grandma, when I moved away from home my preferred cure-all dish became a simple mushroom broth. Made with an assortment of mushrooms and a soffritto of onion and carrot, this rich broth could not be simpler to prepare and is guaranteed to make you feel healthier by the spoonful.

While this soup is quintessentially Eastern European, I’ve recently discovered that an addition of soy sauce and soba noodles turns it into a hearty affair with an Asian touch. What’s more, if you top each bowl with a generous dollop of Khrenovina (a fermented Russian tomato and horseradish sauce or kimchi would work well too) you will get yourself nothing short of a miraculous elixir!

Ingredients

For the mushroom broth
20g dried wild mushrooms
100ml boiling water
1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and grated
500g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, grated
a bunch of flat leaf parsley, leaves and stalks finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
2 litres vegetable stock
2 tablespoons soy sauce

To serve

300g soba noodles
6 tablespoons Khrenovina or kimchi
4 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley

Method

Soak the wild mushrooms in the measured boiling water for 10–15 minutes.

In the meantime, heat up the oil in a medium-sized saucepan and fry the onion and carrot over a medium heat for 5–8 minutes until softened.

Drain the wild mushrooms, reserving the liquid for later, and add to the pan along with the chestnut mushrooms, garlic and parsley. Season with the salt and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Pour in the vegetable stock and mushroom soaking liquid, as well as the soy sauce, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

To serve, cook the soba noodles according to the packet instructions. Drain and divide the cooked noodles between 6 bowls, top with the hot mushroom broth and add a tablespoon of khrenovina and a sprinkle of parsley to each serving. I am already feeling better just thinking about this dish!