Recipe: Mushroom Immunity Broth
Mushrooms are well known for their immune boosting properties and umami flavor. Make this broth to use right away for a soup or store it for later use to steam your veggies. Play with the flavors. You can substitute with other types of mushrooms such as oyster, buttons or enoki. You can enjoy this as a sipping broth during times of high stress and during cold/flu season.
You’ll need:
4-6 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 leek
1 medium carrot
8 oz of cremini mushrooms
1 tbsp avocado oil
1 tsp grated gingerroot
1 tsp salt, or to taste
Directions:
Rehydrate shiitake mushrooms in a 1-quart jar of warm water for a few hours to overnight. Shake once or twice.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shiitake to a bowl. Do not discard the soaking liquid! Pour most of the soaking liquid into another bowl and set aside. Discard the last 1/2 cup or so with the sediment. Trim the stems off the shiitake and cut into thin slices.
Cut the white portion of leek into 2 inch pieces and save the the dark green leaves for another broth. Be sure to rinse off all the grit. Peel and cut the carrot into matchsticks. Cut the cremini mushrooms into 1/8 inch slices.
Heat oil over medium heat. Add shiitake, leek, carrot, cremini, ginger and salt. Cook for about 10 minutes. Stir in the reserved soaking liquid and bring to simmer over medium heat while skimming off foam. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes until everything is tender. Salt and season to taste.
Strain and discard solids. You can use this right away for a soup base or cool and refrigerate for up to 5 days for later use. This is also a great broth to use to steam veggies.
