Karen Miner of Tasty-Trials.com, did what few people have the courage to do; she decided to follow her passion.  She quit her day job, dabbled in a few follow-your-passion-possibilities, and finally landed squarely at the convergence of two of her loves: cooking and writing.  She launched her blog Tasty-Trials.com in August 2010 and hasn’t looked back.  She weaves heartfelt stories into every original recipe.  In addition to an active subscriber-ship, the Bay Area resident has been a guest-poster for numerous food blogs and most recently has become a contributor to the food section for the online women’s magazine, SheKnows.

We at Cimarone are the fortunate recipient of an original recipe developed specifically with and for our Cimarone 3CV Cilla’s Blend.  Bon appetit and thank you Karen!

While this may not be the quickest soup to get to the table, the time spent developing each ingredient’s flavor pays off in the end. 

Roasted Mushroom Soup

Serves 4 as first course

1 pound blend of assorted mushrooms*, cleaned

1/2 tablespoon chopped rosemary

5-6 tablespoons olive oil, divided use

3 ounces of shallots, peeled and cut into quarters

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup leeks (white and light green parts only), chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup 2009 Cilla’s Blend red wine

1-14.5 ounce can low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

salt

pepper

*Use any assortment of mushrooms you like, but try to stay away from white button mushrooms. Cremini, oyster, enoki, and shiitake are good choices for more flavor.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. (Position one rack in the middle and one rack at the bottom of the oven.)

Prepare mushrooms by cutting up larger varieties, as needed. (If using larger mushrooms, like whole cremini or shiitake, cut into pieces. Clustered varieties, like enoki, should just be broken apart but do not need to be cut unless very large. Try to make pieces similar size.)

Toss mushrooms with 4-5 tablespoons olive oil on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with chopped rosemary and season liberally with salt and pepper. Roast mushrooms on bottom rack for about 18 minutes, until soft and browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and reserve.

In a small glass baking dish, toss shallots with 1 tablespoon olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Roast shallots on middle rack for 20 minutes, until soft and starting to caramelize, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and reserve.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add leeks and red pepper flakes, turn heat down to lowest setting, and let leeks cook in butter for about 45-50 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic during the last few minutes of cooking.

To the cooked leeks, add the roasted mushrooms and shallots and turn heat up to medium-high. When pan is hot, stir in red wine, scraping the bottom of the pan, and let simmer until wine is almost completely reduced. Add chicken broth and simmer for about 5 more minutes. Stir in heavy cream.

Using an immersion blender (or food processor), puree soup. Check seasonings and adjust as needed. (If soup is too thick, add extra chicken broth until desired consistency is reached.) Return to low heat and heat through.