Soup served with sprinkling of truffle oil, fresh thyme and roasted seeds I chose Swiss and Portobello mushrooms for this soup (the latter is just a more mature version of the former) as I love their rich intense flavour, so if you choose field mushrooms the soup will be much darker (but still a lovely flavour), but I don't recommend button mushrooms as they don’t have the intensity that is needed for a great winter soup. 20 to 40g packets of porcini mushrooms can be bought at local independent grocery stores (I have seen them at IGA, Supa Value, Farmer Jacks, etc.), and I have also seen them at some Asian grocery stores too. These add a delightful rich umami (to read more on umami see main post) flavour to the soup and is an important ingredient. I always have a jar of toasted sunflower seeds and pepitas in the fridge so have used that as a garnish for the soup. They are great to have on hand for adding to salads, brekkie, etc. If you don’t have any toasted seeds ready then bake them before you bake the mushrooms (toast the seeds together) and you will have your fridge supply ready … they keep well in a glass jar and you will be pleased to have them available for a range of uses. If you don’t have any veggie stock paste then use commercial veggie stock in place of the water. And if you don't wish to use red lentils then substitute sunflower seeds and/or pepitas for added protein and to bring some thickness to the soup.