Cream of roasted mushroom soup

Preheat the oven to 190ªC, gas mark 5. Remove the stalks from the mushrooms, halve the caps and place on a large baking sheet along with the stalks. Add the thyme, drizzle with oil and bake for 20 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for a further 10 minutes until the mushrooms are tender.

Meanwhile, place the stock, potato and dried porcini in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes until the potato is very soft.

If using the bacon, cook gently in a small non-stick frying pan for 7–8 minutes until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.

Tip the roasted mushrooms and any juices into the saucepan (discard the thyme) then using a handheld blender, whizz until smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream and chopped parsley.

Ladle into 4 soup bowls and top with crispy bacon (if using) and a good grinding of black pepper. Serve with the crusty bread.