Cannellini Bean Soup with Porcini Mushrooms

This is a variation on Rufus’s Food and Spirits Guide for Cannellini Bean Soup. The day that I made this soup I had the mother-of-all-head-colds coming on. I didn’t have the time or temperament to soak beans for 8-hours; I needed an injection of garlic and onion, and the only thing with the truffles on the package was a red box of Lindt’s Lindor. So this is my quick and easy version of Greg’s more time-consuming and probably tastier Cannellini Bean Soup with Porcini Mushrooms. Do you have a quick and easy favourite soup recipe?

Cannellini Bean Soup with Dried Porcini Mushrooms

Ingredients:
2 tins cannellini beans, net weight drained 450-470g
500ml/2 cups chicken broth made from a cube
1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ yellow onion, medium chop
1 large garlic clove, grated
a splash of cream
salt and white pepper to taste
pinch dried chilli flakes (optional)
sprinkle of finely chopped chives

Method:
Drain and rinse the beans. Set aside. Toss the chopped onion and grated garlic into a large pot with the olive oil. Stir to moisten with oil, and then lower the heat, and pop the lid on tight. Let them sweat until transparent but not browned. While that’s going on, place the dried mushrooms in a one cup measuring jug and cover completely with boiling water so they turn from the texture of cardboard into mushrooms. This takes at least 30-minutes. Set several of the more nicely formed mushrooms aside, but toss the rest into large pot. Add the beans, the water from the mushrooms (watch out for grit and sand at the bottom!) and the chicken broth, and bring up to a simmer until warmed through completely. Take the pot off the heat, and with an immersion/hand blender whiz until everything is smooth. Adjust the seasonings: salt and white pepper. Add the chilli flakes, if you wish. Serve in big warm bowls, swirl in some cream, and then garnish with the reserved mushrooms and sprinkle the chives on top.