Mushroom Soup for the soul…

It’s raining, it’s gloomy and even worse…it’s cold! I need cheering up! They say chicken soup is good for the soul, I am sure a lot of things are good for the soul, but forget about meditation and living an exemplary life,I am going to go along with the humble mushroom, those fabulous versatile little fungi. 

This soup can be as simple as you like, after all you know that I believe strongly that there is a place in society for Campbells (aka Batchelors) Condensed Mushroom soup,as it does make the base for a quick sauce, but why not make your own? It’s so easy!

You can do the quick simple version OR you can make it fancier and put foamed cream and truffle oil on top and serve it with a herb and garlic bruschetta for a dinner party. Anyway, here is the basic recipe.

You will need:  500g of mixed mushrooms – any type you want-washed and sliced, 100g of butter divided in to two 50g portions, 1 large or 2 small mild, white onions (Don’t use red onions, they go a sludgey grey colour), chopped, 2 cloves of garlic, crushed. 1 litre of strong chicken stock (use vegetable stock if you prefer, or if this is for a dinner party, substitute a quarter of the stock with white wine.) 1 tablespoon chopped, fresh thyme, 1 bayleaf, 4 tablespoons of double cream, salt and pepper to taste.

Method: Place 50g of the butter, the chopped onion, bayleaf, thyme and garlic in to a large saucepan and cook on a low heat for 5 to 10 minutes until they are soft and translucent looking but do not let them start to go brown…this is called sweating! Add the chopped mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the stock and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for a further 20 minutes. Take out a few of the chopped mushrooms and place on one side to use as a garnish. Then either place the mixture in to a food processor and blend or use one of those lovely hand held blenders straight in to the saucepan to liquidise your soup.  Taste and season according to your preferences.  At this point, you can place it in the fridge and heat it up later if you want to, or freeze it. When you’re ready to serve, heat it until boiling, then whisk the remaining 50g of butter in to the soup,  remove from the heat and place in to bowls, add a small amount of cream on top of each bowl  and some of the reserved mushrooms. 

 (If you don’t want your arteries to fur up instantly, omit the additional butter and cream and use low-fat creme fraiche instead.)

 If you are serving this for a dinner party, I like to foam the cream using my espresso machine and serve the soup in capuccino cups, then add a few drops of truffle oil on top of the hot cream foam and a few chopped chives or parsley.

If you want to serve your lovely soup with some bruschetta, mix some softened butter with crushed garlic and chopped fresh herbs (a little bit of chopped red chilli is nice, too). Take a part baked baguette and slice thinly. Spread the butter mixture on top of the baguette and bake in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes at the recommended heat, or until the bruschetta are crispy and browned.