Yield: 10 cups of soup
In a large stock pot, bring the water to a boil.
Wash the bones well in cold water and add them to the boiling water. Simmer at a gentle boil, skimming off any fat and impurities that rise to surface, about 30 minutes.
Add the onion, celery, carrot, tomato, and parsley root. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer until all of the vegetables are soft, about 45 minutes.
Remove the bones and set aside. Discard the parsley root.
Run the soup through a food mill fit with the medium sized disc and return to the pot. Add the salt and pepper to taste.
Add the contents of the soup packages, along with one of the seasoning packets (hold off on the additional seasoning packet until after tasting when the soup is close to being done).
If using, rinse the mushrooms in cold water, and add to the pot.
Place 2-3 of the bones back into the pot.
Simmer over low heat, uncovered according to the instructions on the soup mix package, 1-2 hours depending on which types of beans and grains your soup packet contains.
When all of the vegetables are cooked, taste and adjust for seasoning slowly adding some of the additional seasoning packets and/or more salt and pepper to taste.
Serve immediately garnished with fresh dill and parsley.
*Ruth often used Four Bean, but Ellen likes to use Split Pea and Vegetable so that the resulting color is more pleasant. There are several different soup mixes to choose from, so this is the opportunity to make the soup your own.
**This particular brand of dried black mushrooms is becoming harder and harder to find. Ellen has tried many different kinds of dried mushrooms over the years but claims that nothing is quite like the taste the the kirsch mushrooms impart to the soup. The entire family agreed that if you can’t find the kirsch black mushrooms, the next best thing would be to omit them from the recipe entirely (and some agreed that they would have preferred for the mushrooms to be left out regardless)!
