OH MY Goodness! This may be my favorite mushroom soup to date.
How can I exclaim loud and wide enough for you to try this soup. SO good. SO deep with flavor. You may have to buy a couple of unusual items to make it the way I did, but it’ll be worth your time and the expense.
The original recipe came from a website called vindulge. My D-I-L found that website when she began making smoked beef brisket chili using their left over smoked beef brisket. Such a fabulous recipe, so ever since I’ve been following vindulge’s blog. This recipe popped up awhile ago, and since I had an abundance of mushrooms, I thought I’d try a new recipe for it.
What intrigued me was the quantity of sherry – 3/4 cup. That’s a lot of sherry. Was it too much? Absolutely not. Just be sure to use a good sherry – either dry or medium. Don’t use a sweet sherry. Although all sherry is a bit on the sweet side compared to white wine.
Awhile back, in watching a Rachel Ray show (I think this is when I ordered this product) she used some dried porcini mushroom powder. I bought Organic 100% Porcini Mushroom Powder Milled a 200?m Kosher Certified Made in France Vegan Vegetarian, 2oz
The recipe called for an ounce of it (there are two ounces in the package). I’ve found less than that is sufficient, so I used about a tablespoon. The porcini powder is mixed with the sherry and sits for awhile, so the powder absorbs the sherry. Don’t know exactly what difference that makes, but sounded like something different. Meanwhile, I sweated some onion in EVOO, then added garlic, then a lot of chopped mushrooms. I always buy whole (uncut) mushrooms – somewhere, sometime in the past it was recommended that you should not buy already sliced mushrooms because too many hands have been in contact with them. So I do chop and mince my own mushrooms. I also think mushrooms last a tad bit longer if they’re left whole. Long-lasting (mushrooms) is a relative term, however, as no mushrooms will keep for very long.
The vindulge recipe called for chicken broth, but I have this wonderful mushroom soup base (a kind of thick gel that must be stored in the refrigerator) that adds a lot of flavor to mushroom dishes too. I’ve had the soup base for more than a year, and it still seems to be good and has not developed off flavors or mold. I’m sure it’s for the restaurant trade, but I love the flavor of it.
The soup comes together quickly – providing you have all the ingredients at hand – and you could probably have it on the table in about 45 minutes including prep time. Crème fraiche is added at the end, and I also added about 1/4 cup of cream just because I had some that needed using. At the end, I added a bit of water to the soup because it needed thinning just slightly.
This is a very rich soup – so portions should be smaller than normal. Sprinkle with a little chopped parsley on top, just to make it look pretty. In the original recipe, some of the cremini mushrooms were chopped up, fried in butter and set aside to add as a garnish.
What’s GOOD: the mushroom flavor just jumps on your palate. Very hearty soup. Rich. Delicious. I loved the sherry in it – the quantity used certainly makes the sherry flavor very prominent. A keeper.
What’s NOT: only if you don’t have the mushroom soup base, or the dried porcini mushrooms. I know it wouldn’t taste as good, but it might still be delicious.
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Cream of Mushroom Soup with Sherry and Thyme
Recipe By: Adapted from vindulge
Serving Size: 6
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms — see directions about whole or powdered form
3/4 cup sherry wine — use a good one, not cooking sherry
2 tablespoons EVOO
2 cups onion — white or yellow, chopped
1 pound mushrooms — cremini, cleaned and chopped with stems
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic — finely diced
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon mushroom soup base — or chicken or vegetable
3 cups water
1 tablespoon dried thyme — tied with string
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup crème fraiche
1/4 cup heavy cream — optional
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley — chopped (garnish)
1. If using whole dried mushrooms they need to be rehydrated. Place dried porcini mushrooms in a small bowl and add sherry. Soak for at least 30 minutes, no more than an hour. Stir to make sure the sherry incorporates with all the dried mushrooms. If using porcini powder, soak the powder in the sherry for 30 minutes. Stir well so powder is absorbed.
2. After re-hydrated the whole ones, strain the liquid from the mushrooms, and keep the strained liquid. Dice up the re-hydrated mushrooms prior to putting into the soup.
3. In a 3 quart soup pot over medium heat add olive oil and white onions. Saute for 8 – 10 minutes or until soft. Next add cremini mushrooms and continue to stir for another 15 – 18 minutes or until they start browning. Add butter and garlic and stir until the butter is melted.
4. Add flour and continue to stir for another 3 minutes to make the roux. Add stock, sherry, thyme, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Add the porcini mushrooms, and simmer the soup for 20 minutes, it will slightly thicken.
5. In a separate medium sized bowl add the crème fraîche and place one cup of the hot soup mix in the bowl and stir. This will temper the cream and keep it from curdling. Place the entire mix back into the soup and stir, bringing back to a simmer for another 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste as needed. Serve 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup servings. Sprinkle Italian parsley on top to garnish. Serve with crusty white bread or rolls. Freezes well.
Per Serving: 223 Calories; 16g Fat (62.2% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 18g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 32mg Cholesterol; 813mg Sodium; 5g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 50mg Calcium; 2mg Iron; 469mg Potassium; 118mg Phosphorus.
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