Cream of Mushrooms Soup #SoupSwappers

Welcome to the August #SoupSwappers event. Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm started this group and I'm always grateful to have a few more recipes to try. This month, Wendy herself is hosting and the bloggers are sharing soup recipes made with mushrooms of all kinds.

Here's the line-up...

• Clear Oyster Mushroom Soup by Sneha's Recipe 
• Cream of Mushrooms Soup by Culinary Adventures with Camilla 
• Homemade Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup by Palatable Pastime 
• Slow Cooker Mushroom Soup by A Day in the Life on the Farm 
• Sherried Cream of Mushroom Soup by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

 

Cream of Mushrooms Soup

No, that's not a typo. I do mean cream of mushrooms, with an 's'. I adore the deep, earthy flavors of mushrooms and use as many different kinds as I can find in the market on a given day. I also love that this homemade soup is ready to eat in just a few simple steps.

Ingredients

 

• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup diced onions
• 5 to 6 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed
• 2 pound mushrooms (I used a combination of cremini, maitake, shiitake, and buna shimeji)
• 4 teaspoons chopped herbs plus more for serving
• 1/2 cup sherry (or any other wine that you already have open, but sherry is my favorite
• 6 Tablespoons flour
• 6 cups chicken stock or broth
• 1 to 2 teaspoons salt, adjust to taste
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon pepper, adjust to taste
• 1 cup heavy cream or half and half
• Also needed: blender; toasted bread for serving

Procedure

Melt butter in oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Sauté onions until softened, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, approximately1 minute.

  

Add mushrooms and 2 teaspoons herbs, cook for 5 minutes. Pour in sherry and allow to simmer for 3 minutes or until the strong alcohol smell dissipates.

Sprinkle mushrooms with flour, stir until flour is completely absorbed, and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and allow to cook for 10 to 15 minutes until thickened.

Reduce heat to low, stir in cream or half and half. Allow to simmer to warm through but do not boil or it will curdle. Adjust salt and pepper to your taste.

 

Mix in remaining herbs. Set aside 1 cup mushrooms for garnish. Then blend the soup in batches until desired consistency. We prefer ours to have a few mushroom chunks for texture. To serve, ladle into individual serving bowls. Float a piece of toast in the middle and spoon some of the mushrooms on top of the toast. Serve with a nice glass of sherry.

That's a wrap for the August Soup Saturday Swappers event. The group will be back in September sharing recipes for spicy soups. Stay tuned!