Rick Bayless is chef of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo in Chicago, creator of Frontera gourmet foods, cookbook author and host of Mexico - One Plate at a Time.

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Soups and Chilis

Chef Ricardo Munoz Zurita's Wild Mushroom Soup

Sopa de Hongos
Chef Ricardo Munoz Zurita's Wild Mushroom Soup

During this year's visit to Mexico City, we had a fabulous dinner that Chef Ricardo prepared for us using local, seasonal, traditional Mexican recipes. The whole dinner was unforgettable, but this was one of my favorite dishes, so that's the recipe that I requested. He presented the soup in this beautiful Mexican pottery and when the lids were lifted, the aroma was amazing. Chef Ricardo made this soup with 7 different wild mushrooms. The more variety you can find, the more interesting the soup. Many farmers markets have wild mushrooms for sale around this time of year.

Ingredients

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup diced white onion
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 3/4 pounds wild mushrooms, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup loosely packed, thinly sliced epazote plus 1 bunch (2 1/2 ounces), divided use
2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 quarts low sodium chicken broth
1/2 ounce dried seco chiles, stemmed, seeded and deveined

Directions

Add the oil to a large 12-inch skillet set over medium heat.  Once hot, stir in onions and garlic and saute until the onion become translucent.  Add the mushrooms, 1 cup thinly sliced epazote and the salt.  Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are completely cooked, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.

In a large pot set over medium heat, add the bunch of epazote, mushroom mixture, chicken broth, and the seco chiles.  Stir to combine.  Bring the soup to a boil and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove the bunch of epazote and the chiles and discard.  Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.  You are now ready to serve.

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