Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • 5 large leeks
  • 5 yellow onions, quartered
  • 8 carrots, coarsely chopped
  • 6 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
  • 6 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
  • 1/2 lb. button mushrooms, halved
  • 10 peppercorns
  • 5 quarts water
  • Salt, to taste
  •  
  • 1 head bok choy, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
  • 1/2 lb. shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 4 green onions, including green tops, sliced
  • 1/4 lb. snow peas, thinly sliced
  • 2 tsp. soy sauce
  • 1/4 tsp. Asian sesame oil

Instruction

  • <b>Make the vegetable stock</b>
  • Trim, halve and rinse the leeks, then cut into chunks. In a stockpot, combine the leeks, onions, carrots, celery, parsley, button mushrooms and peppercorns. Add the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover partially, and simmer until the vegetables are very soft and the flavors have blended, about 1 hour. Season with salt.
  • Pour the contents of the stockpot through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl. Press down on the solids to extract all the flavor, then discard the solids.
  • <b>Simmer the soup</b>
  • In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, bring 4 cups of the vegetable stock to a simmer. Add the bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, green onions, snow peas, soy sauce and sesame oil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and serve immediately. Serves 4; makes about 5 quarts stock total.
  • Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, <i>Soup</i>, by Georgeanne Brennan (Oxmoor House, 2006).