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| Mushroom Soup |
Soup is polarizing. For some, it is the highlight of the meal, the perfect dish to demonstrate a chef’s ability (or lack of ability), a light lunch, or simply a comfort food to warm up on a cold day. For others, me included, soup is overrated. Either it’s a bland, broth-based soup with mushy vegetables or it’s an indulgent, creamy soup that makes you feel guilty. In a restaurant, I always opt for the salad.
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| Prepping all the mushrooms |
However, even for non-soup people like me, a soup comes along every once in a while that is the perfect combination of flavor, texture, and even healthiness. This soup recipe, which I adapted from F&W’s Wild Mushroom Soup, turned out very well. My friends and I love its hearty texture and earthy flavors. As I mentioned in my previous entry on Asian cuisine, this soup also has the umami component, which comes from all the mushrooms (which deliver this type of flavor).
I also enjoyed cooking it because you have a lot of flexibility within the recipe. If your grocery store or farmer’s market has a good variety of mushrooms, you can pick out whatever is on sale or whichever mushrooms you love to eat. I used a combination of white, portabella, and shiitake mushrooms, along with the some unusual ones, such as trumpet and oyster mushrooms.
Another flexible aspect of the soup recipe is its texture. I pureed my most recent batch only once, which made it slightly chunky. However, if you prefer a very smooth, completely homogeneous soup, you can puree the soup again after adding the stock and water. The viscosity of the soup is also a variable, which you can change to meet your taste.
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| Fresh portabellas |
The only other soup I enjoy as much as this hearty mushroom soup is a well-made, roasted tomato soup. If you have a favorite soup recipe, please post it below and I'll try it out.
Mushroom Soup
(serves 6-8 bowls of soup)
Ingredients:
1 T. olive oil
¼ lb. pancetta, chopped
2 pounds mixed mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
2 medium shallots, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme, minced
¼ tsp fresh sage, minced
¼ tsp fresh rosemary, minced
¼ cup Marsala
2 T. Sherry
¼ cup heavy cream
1 quart mushroom stock (or low-sodium chicken stock)
2 cups water
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Chives, minced (for garnish)
Directions:
1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil
2. Add the chopped pancetta, cooking until it’s golden brown, 5-7 minutes
3. Remove pancetta and place on a plate with a paper towel to absorb the oil (but do not clean out the oil in the pan)
4. Add mushrooms to the pot, along with salt & pepper
5. Sauté until mushrooms cook down, about 10 minutes
6. Add the shallots and fresh herbs, stir, and let cook for 3-4 minutes
7. Add the Marsala and Sherry, stir, and let it reduce by half
8. Add heavy cream and return crispy pancetta to the pot; turn off heat
9. Using a food processor, blend the mushroom mixture into a fairly smooth consistently (or more to your preference)
10. Return the pureed mushroom mixture to the pot, add the stock and water
11. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let cook for another 10-15 minutes, or until the soup reaches your desired consistency
12. Serve with fresh minced chives