Wild Mushroom Soup with Parmesan Toasts

• Recipe by Grace Parisi

Grace created this recipe almost by accident. When she was cooking dinner for her kids, one of them knocked into her while she was adding a few tablespoons of chicken broth to a pan of sautéed mushrooms. She poured in a lot more broth than she intended to and ended up with a terrific mushroom soup.

Ingredients

1. 6 slices bread, cut from a long country or sourdough loaf
2. Extra-virgin olive oil
3. 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4. Paprika
5. Wild Mushroom Ragout
6. 1 quart chicken stock or low-sodium broth
7. 1 cup frozen baby peas
8. Salt and freshly ground pepper
9. 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 golden and toasted.
2. Meanwhile, puree 1 cup of the mushroom ragout in a blender until smooth. Transfer the puree to a medium saucepan. Add the remaining mushroom ragout, the chicken stock and peas and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Season the soup with salt and pepper and transfer to shallow bowls. Garnish with the chives and serve with the Parmesan toasts.