Wild Mushroom Soup

This recipe comes mainly from Ina Garten but over the years I have tweaked a few things to make it even better! 

 

Serves: 5 to 6 (Great for leftovers!)

Ingredients:

  - 1/2 lb fresh shitake mushrooms

  - 1/2 lb fresh portobello mushrooms

  - 1/2 lb fresh cremini mushrooms

  - 1 tbsp good olive oil

  - 1/4 lb unsalted butter

  - 1 cup organic yellow onion (chopped)

  - 2 organic carrots chopped (leave skin on)

  - 1 tbsp of fresh thyme leaves

  - 2 medium to large organic leeks, chopped white and light green parts only

  - 1/4 cup all purpose flour

  - 1 cup of good dry white wine (if you wouldn't drink it don't use it in your cooking!)

  - 1 cup organic half-and-half

  - 1 cup organic heavy cream

  - 1 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves (you can substitute dry but use half the amount)

  - 1/2 cup of minced fresh flat-leaf parsley (aka Italian parsley)

Clean the mushrooms by wiping with a damp cloth (never rinse the mushrooms because they will soak up the water and become slimey)!  Take off the stems and place them aside - do not throw away.  Slice the mushroom caps in 1/4" pieces, larger if you like a chunkier soup. 

For the stock, heat the olive oil and 1 tbsp of the butter in a large pot (let the pot get good and hot before adding ingredients).  Add the mushroom stems, onion, carrot and sprig of thyme, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp of fresh ground pepper and cook over med-low for 10 - 15 minutes.  When the vegetables are soft add 6 cups of water and bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.  Strain the stock and reserve the liquid in a separate bowl.  There should be about 4 1/2 cups of stock if not add water.

In the same stock pot heat the remaining butter and add the chopped leeks.  Cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes, until the leeks begin to brown.  Add the mushroom caps and cook for 10 minutes, or until the caps have browned and become soft.  Add the flour and cook for 1 minute stirring constantly.  Add the white wine and stir for another minute scraping all the bits off the bottom of the pot.  Add the stock, minced thyme leaves, 1 1/2 tsp of salt, and 1 tsp of fresh ground pepper and bring to a boil (this process will boil off the alcohol in the wine for any who are worried about a strong alcohol taste).  Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add the half-and-half, cream, parsley and season to taste.  Heat the soup through but do not boil!  Serve hot with some minced parsely on top for garnish.

Comments about the ingredients:  Any wild mushrooms will suffice.  If you can't find the ones listed use all portobellos or all another type but never use white buttons!  White buttons have no flavor and not much nutritional value. 

Leeks are a wonderful vegetable and once you cook with them you'll want to keep using them.  They are very sandy so the best way to clean them is to chop off the dark green parts of the leaves and then slice the whole leak in half and rinse well!  Then chop them like you would a carrot.

When making the stock if you have leftover celery or turnips in the fridge feel free to put them in the stock!  This will only add flavor to your end product.