Cellar360 Wild Mushroom Bisque and Pesto Crostini

Crostini

4 tablespoons pine nuts

3 garlic cloves

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 cup arugula, packed

1 cup olive oil

¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Salt to taste

1 baguette, cut into ½-inch diagonal slices

Olive oil to brush (about ¼ cup)

Salt and pepper to taste

Bisque

2 ounces dried chanterelle mushrooms

2 cups very hot water

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 pound fresh Cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

3 garlic cloves, chopped

4 shallots, sliced (about 1 cup)

2 cups dry white wine

½ tablespoon fresh* thyme, chopped

½ tablespoon fresh* marjoram, chopped

1 bay leaf

4 cups high-quality chicken stock additional to thin soup as desired

1 cup cream

*or substitute ¾ teaspoon dried herbs

Crostini:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pine nuts in shallow baking pan and bake until golden, about 8 minutes. Allow to cool.

Process garlic and pine nuts in food processor until finely chopped, then add lemon juice, arugula, and slowly drizzle in olive oil. When pesto becomes fairly smooth, add cheese and pulse until just combined. Season with salt to taste. If making ahead of time, cover and refrigerate, allowing the pesto to come to room temperature before serving.

When ready to serve the bisque, arrange baguette slices on large baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degress until golden, about 10 minutes. Drizzle pesto on each baguette slice and serve alongside bisque. Serve while toasts are still warm.

Bisque:
Place dried chanterelles in a small bowl. Cover with hot water and soak for 20 minutes. Remove mushrooms from liquid, squeezing them over bowl to eliminate as much liquid as possible. For best results, strain the soaking liquid through a coffee filter or cheesecloth before setting aside for later use. Chop chanterelles in smaller pieces and reserve.

In a heavy, large-bottomed pot, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute dried mushrooms, onion, garlic, and shallots until softened and slightly caramelized, 5-7 minutes. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl and reserve.

Increase heat and add remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to pan. Add fresh mushrooms--taking care to not crowd the pan or turn mushrooms too often. Cook until mushrooms are caramelized, adding more olive oil if pan appears dry. Add wine and herbs and bring to a boil, scraping bottom of pan to incorporate flavors. Return onion mixture back to pot and simmer until wine has reduced by about half, roughly 5 minutes. Add stock and (strained) mushroom soaking liquid. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer—uncovered—for 30 minutes.

Remove bay leaf and puree soup in blender until very smooth. Return soup to pot, add cream, and season with salt and pepper. Bring soup back to a low simmer and thin with additional chicken stock if desired. Resulting soup should have a nice balance of mushroom and savory chicken flavors.

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In this recipe, we used dried chanterelle mushrooms because they are wonderfully flavorful and relatively easy to find. Feel free to experiment with any other fresh or dry mushrooms that are available. The general rule of thumb is that 1 ounce of dried mushrooms is the equivalent to a 4 ounces of fresh.