The place can be a bit of a maze, but I like it. By the second visit here, we could roughly figure out where to go to get what we wanted. My favourite finds were these mushrooms, and I snapped up some fresh thyme from the store on our way out for this soup.
I gotta admit, the sight of the trays of mushrooms in my fridge brought me quite a bit of joy. It’s aesthetically pleasing, looking like something out from a farmer’s market or from my childhood story books.
We topped the Portobello with sliced cheese and roasted them in the oven. For the white button mushroom, we turned one tray’s worth of mushrooms into this soup.
Mushrooms are pretty nutritious: high in antioxidants and vitamins, pretty decent in protein and fibre content, and low in calories, fats and cholesterol. In the spirit of healthy eating, I’ve used milk instead of cream, and olive oil instead of butter (see ‘mushroom bisque’ below for the original recipe.) This version has a higher mushroom content, and despite the lack of butter and cream, remains plenty flavourful and more-ish.
This recipe is easy to follow, and delicious. Don’t expect any leftovers.
Mushroom Soup Recipe
Recipe adapted from John Mitzewich
Ingredients
900g white button mushroom, sliced
60ml olive oil, or enough to sauté mushrooms
A large pinch of salt
1 yellow onion, diced
1 tbsp flour
4 sprigs fresh thyme, tied into a bundle with kitchen string, plus some picked leaves to garnish
2 cloves garlic, peeled, left whole
4 cups chicken broth or stock
1.5 cups of milk
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Steps
1. In a large pot set over medium-high heat, add olive oil. When hot, add mushroom and a large pinch of salt. Mushrooms have a lot of water content and will release a lot of water during cooking. Cook until the water has boiled away and mushrooms are browned. (If there’s still a lot of liquid in the pot after 10 minutes of cooking, I’ll just go on ahead to pour them out. If you’re using bouillon cubes, you can use the liquid for the bouillon stock.)
2. Add onions and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for 5 mins until translucent. Add a splash of olive oil if needed to prevent burning. At this point, you may reserve half a cup of cooked mushroom for garnishing later.
3. Add flour to the mixture and stir for about 2 minutes, until the raw flour taste is gone. If needed, you can add a bit more olive oil to prevent burning.
4. Add a cup of chicken broth, and make sure to scrap up the flavourful fond (browned bits) sticking to the pot. Add the rest of the broth, and then the thyme and garlic. Cover and let simmer on low for about an hour.
5. Remove and discard thyme. Blend the mixture until smooth (using a stick blender, or in divided portions in a regular blender to prevent spillage.)
6. Add milk and stir to combine. You can further thin out the soup with water/stock to your desired consistency. Taste, and add salt and pepper if required.
7. Portion the soup in individual bowls. Garnish with reserved sliced mushrooms and thyme leaves. Serve and enjoy.
Notes:
Mushroom soup freezes well. I would freeze the soup in portions at the point before dairy is added.
Variation: Mushroom Bisque (the original recipe)
The original recipe uses 1/4 cup unsalted butter instead of olive oil, and 1 cup water + 1 cup heavy cream instead of milk. It would result in a richer, smoother result. Serve this for special occasions.
