AMY SOUPS RECIPES

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the carrots, peppers and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until well incorporated, about 5 minutes more.
• Add the chicken stock, beer and half-and-half and cook, whisking often, at a very slow simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes.
• Add the cheddar to the soup by the handful, whisking each batch until smooth. Add the Worcestershire, hot sauce, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, the nutmeg, mustard and lemon juice, and stir to combine.
• Puree the soup in batches in a blender (holding a thick towel over the lid to prevent overflow) until very smooth.
• Just before serving, reheat the soup until steaming and taste for seasoning, adding salt as necessary. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each bowl with a swirl of mustard oil, a dollop of goat cheese and a sprinkle of thyme.

Steps:

• [The night before] To get rid of dirt and impurities, rinse dried mushrooms briefly in cold water. Then, place them in a bowl and cover with fresh water - just enough so they float freely. Set aside overnight. If you’re worried that a bowl might attract some unwanted attention (from bugs, cats etc.), cover the bowl with cloth or a plate.
• Once you’re ready to cook, prepare a cooking pot (ideally sized at 2.5 quarts or more).
• Move soaked mushrooms to the pot, keep the soaking water.
• Grab the bowl with remaining soaking water. Try separating the water from the sediment formed at the bottom. Move the water to the pot and get rid of the residue.
• Top the pot up to 2 liquid quarts (1.9 - 2 litres) of water. Cover with a lid and cook on the lowest heat for 25 minutes, until the mushrooms start to turn soft.
• As the mushrooms cook, peel all the vegetables and chop them roughly. 
• Once the time is up on the mushrooms, add in all the vegetable chunks and peppercorns. Continue cooking for another 30 minutes, but follow the next step 15 minutes in.
• With 15 minutes left till the end of cooking - let’s cook ‘lazanki’ noodles. Grab another cooking pot, fill it with water and bring to boil. Drop the pasta in, and just follow the directions on the pack - in my case that’s 10 minutes of cooking time.
• Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the mushrooms and veggies from the stock and set them aside.
• Using an extra fine sieve, strain the stock multiple times, until it’s clear and not foggy. If you don’t have a fine sieve, line a regular sieve lined with a cloth instead (cheesecloth, a piece of muslin square or similar).
• Let’s balance the flavours now - add 2 generous pinches of salt and a solid pinch of ground black pepper. 
• Add a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice and blend everything together with a spoon. Have a taste - does the soup need more kick? I usually add one more tablespoon of lemon juice (so two in total).
• Slice the mushrooms into stripes, small ones can be kept whole.
• The vegetables gave their all, there isn’t much flavour left. But if you wish, you can reuse them to bulk up pâtés, pierogi fillings etc. I usually reuse some carrots, cubed, for serving.
• Arrange the mushroom slices in the individual soup plates. Add 'lazanki' pasta and pour the soup over it. Garnish each plate with chopped parsley (optional)