Dried mushrooms intensify the rich flavour of this simple and delicious cream of mushroom soup. A cook-ahead starter the family will love.
Where do you stand on soup? Do you have a strong opinion?!
DH doesn’t like soup, so I rarely make it. But his parents were visiting us and they do like soup, so I had an excuse to make some. I picked a flavour that I thought DH wouldn’t object to too much, and hoped the for best. In the event, he ate a whole bowlful of this creamy mushroom soup, and even said, “I didn’t hate it.” Praise indeed.
Don’t mention dessert
My daughter Kipper on the other hand refused to even try the cream of mushroom soup, which is a mystery because she loves mushrooms. I think she was saving herself for the jelly, which came later. (Note to self: maintain secrecy about the identity of dessert.)
Rich mushroom flavour
The dried mushrooms give a deep, woodland mushroom flavour, which seems to intensify if you make the mushroom soup in advance and allow it to stand for a few hours before you eat it. The ones we have are a mixture of porcini, oyster mushrooms, and shiitake
but I think any dried mushrooms would probably have a similar effect.
I also used a mixture of fresh mushrooms – about half and half white mushrooms and chestnut mushrooms. Again, I’m not sure how critical this is to the quality of the finished mushroom soup.
Cream of mushroom soup – a hit!
I think this delicious soup was a hit all round – even with the alleged soup haters! Definitely a recipe to hang on to…
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📖 Recipe
Cream of mushroom soup
Ingredients
- 20 g dried mushrooms
- 2 small onions or shallots
- 2 cloves garlic
- 500 g fresh mushrooms
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon dry sherry
- 400 ml vegetable stock
- 6 black peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 170 ml double cream
- chopped tarragon leaves to serve
Instructions
- 20 g (5/7 oz) dried mushroomsPut the dried mushrooms in a measuring jug and pour over boiling water to the 250ml (just over 1 cup) line. Leave to soak for 20 minutes.
- 2 small onions or shallots, 2 cloves garlic, 500 g (17 ⅔ oz) fresh mushroomsMeanwhile, prepare the rest of the ingredients: Peel and finely chop the onions, peel and crush the garlic, and slice the mushrooms.
- 2 tbsp olive oilHeat the olive oil in a saucepan, and add the onions, garlic and mushrooms. Cook over a medium heat for 5-8 minutes until softened. The mushrooms will probably have released some liquid.
- Drain the soaked mushrooms and reserve the soaking liquid. Chop the mushrooms and add to the pan. Cook 1-2 minutes.
- 2 tbsp dry sherryAdd the sherry, and the reserved mushroom soaking liquid – pour it through a tea strainer to catch any bits of grit. Boil the liquid for a minute or two to reduce.
- 400 ml (1 ⅔ cups) vegetable stock, 6 black peppercorns, 1 bay leafAdd the stock, peppercorns and bay leaf, and reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the mushrooms are very soft.
- 170 ml (5/7 cups) double creamRemove from the heat and retrieve the bay leaf. Liquidise with a stick blender until smooth, then add the cream. Adjust the seasoning then blend again until very smooth and creamy.
- chopped tarragon leavesIf possible, allow to stand for several hours. Reheat gently before serving, sprinkled with chopped tarragon leaves.
Nutrition
More delicious mushroom recipes
If you’re a big mushroom fan (like me!) you might also enjoy:
Jacqueline
I love, love, love mushrooms. This is the soup for me. Thanks for submitting it to No Croutons Required. The roundup is now live.
FFF
Thanks Jacqueline, and thanks for hosting. H x.
Sarah, Simply Cooked
Beautiful. I concur that dried mushrooms add a depth of flavour like nothing else. I also have a husband that doesn’t really like soup, but I sometimes get around this by naming it “stew” and making sure it is really chunky. Haha!
FFF
Ha ha! I’ll have to try that Sarah!