WARM MUSHROOM & SQUASH BLOSSOM BISQUE

By BobD

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 finely chopped medium white onion (about 1/2 cup)
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 pound zucchini, finely diced (1 medium zucchini)
• Sea salt to taste
• 3/4 cup fresh corn kernels (not too sweet)
• 1/4 pound squash blossoms, sepals removed and roughly chopped (optional)
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 pound fried chicken
• mushrooms or other wild mush- rooms, tips of stems removed and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro
• 2 poblano chilies, or 1 green bell pepper, charred, peeled, cleaned and cut into strips

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from events.nytimes.com

Preparation

Step 1

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a frying pan. Add 2/3 of the onion and 2 cloves of the garlic. Cook, without browning, until translucent.

Add the squash, sprinkle with salt, cover the pan and cook for about 3 minutes. 3. Add the corn, and continue cooking for 3 more minutes.
3.
Add the squash blossoms and cook, uncovered, until the vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes. The mixture should not be too juicy. If necessary, reduce the liquid over a high flame.

Add the mixture to the chicken broth in a saucepan, uncovered, and heat over a low flame for a few minutes.

Chop the larger mushrooms, leaving the smaller ones whole. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the frying pan. Add the remaining onion and garlic, and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the mushrooms, and cook over a fairly high heat, uncovered, for about 5 minutes. Add the cilantro, and cook for 2 more minutes or until just tender.

Add the mushroom mixture to the saucepan, and simmer for about 10 minutes, so that all the flavors blend well.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of oil in the frying pan. Add the chili or pepper strips and a sprinkle of salt, and cook for 1 minute. Serve on top of the broth.

NOTE Squash blossoms are likely to be found in specialty-food stores and at farmers' markets. Mrs. Kennedy likes to cook everything separately before adding to the broth, to create a more intense flavor. She uses Lyophylum decastes (fried chicken mushrooms), but any wild mushroom will work in the recipe.