I was craving mushrooms and there was a sale on baby portobellos at the grocery store. These past few days have been cold and blustery so I made soup with my haul. This is a pretty easy recipe to make as is or make it vegetarian or substitute chicken or vegetable broth for the beef broth. You can use any mushrooms here, although I don’t recommend the white button, as their delicate flavor wouldn’t make a very mushroomy soup.
This version uses milk instead of cream so just make sure you turn the heat down to simmer and then temper the milk (add a few spoonfuls of the soup liquid to the milk to bring up its temperature) a bit before adding it so that it doesn’t break in the heat.
The final result tastes rich with a deep flavor of mushrooms. Most everyone had seconds at lunch!
Mushroom Soup
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
¼ cup onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
16 ounces of baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups beef stock
1 cup water
½ teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup milk
Melt the butter in large stock pot or Dutch oven. Sauté the onions until soft and golden, about ten minutes. Add in the garlic and sauté a minute or two until fragrant. Add in the mushrooms and cook for about five minutes or until they begin to release their juices. Sprinkle the flour over and stir regularly for about five minutes to cook away the flour taste.
Slowly pour in the beef stock and water, stirring well. Add the thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Turn down the heat to a simmer and slowly add the milk that you’ve tempered with a couple of spoonfuls of soup. Simmer for 30 minutes or until well thickened, stirring frequently.
Serve with cornbread, crusty bread, dinner rolls or garlic bread. Heck, serve with a grilled cheese sandwich – just serve this soup today!
Mouth Brothels 