Wild Mushroom Soup with Parmesan Toasts

Ingredients:

6 slices of bread, cut from a long country or sourdough loaf
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Paprika
Wild Mushroom Ragout (recipe follows)

  • 1 quart chicken stock
  • 1 cup frozen baby peas

Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon snipped chives

Directions:

  1. Preheat the broiler. Lightly brush both sides of each slice of bread with olive oil and arrange on a baking sheet. Broil for 1 minute, until toasted. Flip the bread, sprinkle with the Parmesan and a pinch of paprika and broil for 1 minute longer, until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted.
  2. Meanwhile, puree 1 cup of the mushroom ragout in a blender until the ragout is smooth. Transfer the mushroom puree to a medium saucepan. Add the remaining mushroom ragout, the chicken stock and the peas and bring the soup to a boil over moderately high heat. Season the mushroom soup with salt and pepper and transfer to shallow soup bowls. Garnish the soup with the snipped chives and serve with the Parmesan toasts.