Instructions: First bring the vegetable stock to the boil in a saucepan, pour it over the dried mushrooms and leave them to soak for 2 hours (or better still overnight)

Drain the mushroooms, reserving the liquid and roughly chop them. Melt the butter in a pan, add the onion and thyme and cook gently for about 4-5 minutes, until the onion is tender. Add the dried mushrooms and the chestnut mushrooms and continue cooking until they start to release their juices.

Pour in the white wine and cook until it is reduced by a third, then stir in the double cream, milk and the liquid from the soaked mushrooms. Bring to the boi, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered for 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the rouille: Cook the potato in its skin in a pan of boiling salted water, drain, then when it is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin. Place the garlic and red pepper in a liquidizer and blitz to form a puree. Add the cooked potato, egg yolk, seasoning and cayenne pepper. Then add the olive oil in a thin stream, as if making mayonnaise, until it thickens and forms an emulsion.

Stir in half the rouille into the soup and adjust the sesoning to taste.

Serve the soup with the remainig rouille and the croutons.

To make the croutons thinly slice a baguette, dip in a little olive oil and toast them, or grill until crisp.

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