Russian Mushroom-Potato Soup

I, also, was feeling in the mood for mushroom soup but wanted some potato in the mix. Bittman came through as he so often does; I modified the recipe slightly based on not having the called-for porcini mushrooms.

Ingredients

• 4 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and roughly chopped [I also chopped and used the stems]
• 6 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
  
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 6 small potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 large onion, diced
  
• 6 c. stock [your choice; I used homemade chicken stock but you could use veggie or mushroom water if you're reconstituting]
  
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 2 bay leaves
  
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• salt to taste

Procedure

1. Pour olive oil into medium saucepan and turn heat to medium-high
2. Add mushrooms, onion and carrots, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown – about 10 min.
3. Add the potatoes and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to brown [add a bit of stock to keep from sticking to the pan]
4. Add bay leaves, pepper and remainder of stock
5. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook until potato is very tender, 20-30 min., adding salt and pepper to taste
6. Serve hot or cover and refrigerate for up to a day before reheating, adding more water to thin soup
7. Enjoy!