Mushroom Soup with Toasted Bread

Ingredients

• 12  dill sprigs 
• 2  garlic cloves thinly sliced
• 0.8 cup heavy cream 
• 2  portobello mushrooms—stems discarded black coarsely chopped for garnish caps
• 12 servings salt and pepper white freshly ground
• 18 ounces of sourdough bread 
• 4 tablespoons butter unsalted
• 6 cups vegetable broth 
• 1.5 pounds mushrooms white coarsely chopped

Equipment

• food processor
• bowl
• baking sheet
• sauce pan
• ladle
• oven
• whisk
• pot

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 30
2. Bake the bread slices on a baking sheet for about 1 hour and 40 minutes, until deeply browned.
3. In a pot, melt the butter.
4. Add the mushrooms and the garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over moderate heat, until the mushrooms are softened, 5 minutes.
5. Add the broth and 1/2 cup of the cream; bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until the mushrooms are tender, 10 minutes.
6. Add the toasted bread to the soup; simmer until softened, 5 minutes. Working in batches, puree the soup in a food processor. Return the soup to the pot, season with salt and pepper and keep warm.
7. In a saucepan, bring the remaining 1/4 cup of cream to a boil.
8. Remove from the heat; whisk until frothy. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with the frothed cream, garnish with the dill and portobello gills and serve.