INGREDIENTS

SOUP

2 cups water

3/4 ounce dried porcini mushrooms. Very important that they’re porcini!

2 1/2 Tbsp oil, olive or rapeseed

3 Tbsp butter

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, sliced

1 Tbsp dried thyme. Fresh works too.

Fine sea salt

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/3 cup red wine (minimum), any kind-- fruity, dry, tart, been open for 3 weeks (oops)

1 large onion, quartered and sliced

3-4 leeks, washed, halved, cut into wee half moons up to the pale green. Tops can be kept frozen with other veggie bits to make homemade vegetable broth later.

8 cups vegetable or chicken broth, chef’s choice. Never tried it with beef but I don’t doubt it would be good

Pinch of red pepper flakes; heavy pinch if it’s cold out.

1 heaping Tbsp of paprika

Big handful of fresh chives, chopped, for garnish. You’re going to want a lot, trust me.

1 tsp white sugar

A whole bunch of black pepper. Don’t be shy. A bay leaf. Two bay leaves. The whole tree. (No, only 2) **Optional: a heavy dash of worcestershire in with the broth/liquid!

DUMPLINGS

1/3 cup sour cream

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, room temperature, chopped into cubes or pats

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup all purpose flour, divided

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Heavy pinch of ground nutmeg

1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley. Or just a bunch. Eye ball it, all the above measurements are made up with a shrug anyway.

PREPARATION

Bring 2 cups water and porcini mushrooms to boil in small saucepan. Let that sit to the side, covered, while you do the next few steps.

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add crimini mushrooms and saute a couple minutes until they start releasing moisture. Dump in thyme, paprika, chopped garlic, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Sprinkle with sea salt and sauté another couple minutes until the garlic is fragrant. Pour in the red wine and red wine vinegar and let it bubble away for a bit until there’s a bit less liquid and your mushrooms and done.

Melt the butter in another heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute until they start to go limp and translucent. Add in the sugar and stir, continuing to cook until they start to brown juuuust a bit. Add leeks; reduce heat to medium, sprinkle with sea salt, and sauté until vegetables are soft and golden, stirring often, about another 15 minutes. Don’t worry if the bottom of the pan starts to get little brown ghosts of onions appearing on it. That’s a good thing, scrape all that up with the onions and dump them into your soup pot where you cooked the mushrooms.

Return to your porcini mushrooms. Take them from the (now dark brown) mushroom liquid, squeeze out the excess, and shop them small. Toss your porcini bits into the pot with everything else. Pour in reserved mushroom cooking liquid, through a sieve to catch any sediment. Pour in your broth of choice and bring to a boil. Simmer 10-15 minutes so the flavors can percolate and deepen.

DUMPLINGS:

Mix together your flour, salt, nutmeg, and parmesan. Add in the two eggs and mix, with a fork or with your fingertips, until you have a bunch of semi-moist lumps of flour. Add in your sour cream and 6 Tbsp butter and work together, again with fork or with finger tips. As the dough begins to come together, toss in your chopped parsley and fold it in. This dough is wet and sloppy, but should be workable. Add up to another 1/2 cup flour; it all depends on your humidity, you want it still sticky but workable! Once it’s come together, fold for another 2-3 minutes. Add a little more flour if you want firmer dumplings similar to pierogie dough or if it’s too wet and sticky to manage;

Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Using a teaspoon or just your fingers, scoop pieces/pinches of dough about the size of a cherry. Drop into boiling water. Working quickly, repeat about 10 more times. When dumplings rise to surface, simmer until cooked through, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer dumplings to large plate. Repeat with remaining dough. Make double dumplings if you, like me, are here for the dumps. Also, if the water isn’t too heavily salted (though the dumplings do absorb some as they cook), let it cool and dump it on your garden or lawn for a little pick me up for the plants. Or maybe ladle one ladlefull into the main soup pot for a bit extra of that flavor. Whatever pleases you.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium heat. Working in 2 batches, add dumplings to skillet. Cook until browned on each side, 2 to 3 minutes per side.