Step 1

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, celery, fennel, carrots and leeks. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 2

Cook until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes.

Step 3

Add the mushrooms and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the mushrooms are soft.

Step 4

Add the water, bay leaf, parsley and thyme and season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Step 5

Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 50 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Step 6

At this stage, you have a few options. Either strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer into a large heat-proof bowl or pot and discard the vegetables. Instead, you can keep the vegetables in the broth and leave them whole as-is. Alternatively, use a handheld stick blender to puree the vegetables into a thick brothy-soup mixture.

Step 7

Stir in the cordyceps powder and serve warm. Enjoy!