Homemade mushroom soup. It’s one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. It’s the ultimate thing to eat on a chilly day and makes me feel cozy and comfy. Eating this soup makes me feel like I’m at home; regardless of where I’m at.
When it comes to making mushroom soup, I have three tricks that I use:
- Different types of mushrooms (they don’t have to be fancy) will always make your soup taste more interesting.
- Dried mushrooms are an important ingredient – they add texture as well as adding intense mushroom flavor when rehydrated in warm stock.
- A high-speed blender or good stick blender will make the texture very smooth (some food processors will result in a chunkier soup). There is not perfect texture (it’s a matter of personal preference) but a high-speed blender gives you the option of a very creamy soup with very little (or no) dairy.
You could make this soup more photogenic with a splash of color, such as freshly chopped chives. But this is how I ate it so I thought I’d share it that way.
Cream of Mushroom Soup – Ingredients
- 3 pounds of clean mushrooms (mixed varieties)
- Olive oil
- 0.5 pound (about 225 grams) dried mushrooms
- 1 quart (liter) chicken stock
- 2 cloves garlic
- 0.5 onion, chopped small
- 0.5-1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 0.25-0.5 cups table cream (optional)
Cream of Mushroom Soup – Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a heavy pan with olive oil (don’t be sparse, this will add flavor).
- Gently heat the pan on medium-high.
- Cook the onions and garlic (they won’t fry on medium) until soft. 5-10 minutes
- Add fresh mushrooms, salt liberally (this will help pull the liquid from them) and cook until mushrooms are soft (about 20 minutes).
- Puree the cooked vegetables with 2 cups of chicken stock. Return to pan and slowly simmer for 15 minutes (you can continue with the following steps before the 15 minutes has passed).
- Bring 1 cup of stock to a boil. Remove from heat and add dried mushrooms to it. This will rehydrate the mushrooms and flavor the broth.
- Add the dried mushrooms and broth to the soup, stir.
- Add additional stock if you wish to have a thinner broth.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Add 0.5 tablespoon of cider vinegar, stir and taste, concentrating on the acidity. If you think it needs more, add remaining 1 teaspoon at a time.
- Add 0.25.-0.5 cups of table cream right before serving. Stir to incorporate and place in bowls.
What’s your favorite comfort food?
The post Cream of Mushroom Soup Recipe (Dairy Optional) appeared first on WellPreserved.ca.
