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There was one point in my life where I live on soup alone. I drank, sip soup all day long. I call it my liquid diet. Soup was the only think I craved for day in day out, sometimes lasting to months. I didn't know how the cravings came and went. I only remembers how this craving came about. Perhaps, because it was my first year and the winter was bloody cold. So cold that I don't even want to lose a degree of heat through chewing solid food. I only want to gulp down thick, rich, creamy soup every meal, sometimes a double portion, just to warm up.
Then I had my own commercial kitchen. It was there where I perfected the soups recipes. The creamy chestnut mushroom soup became a staple favorite. I religiously test it everyday with pride, making sure it taste just as I wanted it to be. Smooth, flavorful and velvety. I do miss it sometimes.
Now, back to the tropics, I don't crave soups as much. Sometimes when I do, I'll head for the convenience quick fixes. Mushroom soups are the safest bet but still taste artificial. Mostly either of campbell can soups or heavily flavored with chicken powder. Cream soups are easy and cheap to make from scratch. It puzzles me why not many serve a proper tasting soup.
The cream of mushroom is one of the most popular choice out there. And there is no trickery here to make the a perfect cream of mushroom. All you need is some handsome mushrooms and a few onions, which somehow magically combines to make a fantastic soup.
It so happen too, I receive a set of le creuset minis. Such a sweet gesture after I hinted "I wish I have a le creuset casserole" on my fb to my previous post on Julia and Julie's Beef Bourguignon. I got to serve a classic soup in the new minis. The classic cream of mushroom, the most basic of all mushroom soup recipe.
The nice thing about nearly all mushrooms is that, if cooked correctly, they do give a wonderful flavor. My soup uses Portabello mushrooms and by just adding a tiny bit of dried porcini into the base, it makes the whole thing more luxurious.
Ingredients
600g portabello (you can use a mixed of fresh mushrooms)
3 clove garlic, minced
1 large white onion, sliced
Handful of dried porcini
Handful of fresh thyme, leaves picked
½ cup of white wine
Butter
1 Litre homemade chicken stock
300 ml cream + more for drizzle
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Roux
1 large knob of butter
2-3 tablespoon flour
Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the flour, stir until thicken and slightly browned. Set aside.
Optional
truffle oil for drizzle
Method
Roughly slice the mushrooms and onions. Place the porcini in a small dish, add boiling water just to cover, and leave to soak.
Get a large casserole over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and toss in the onions and garlic and cook until soft and translucent. Toss in the mushroom and thyme and some salt. After about a few minutes, add the wine and porcini together with the strained liquid, Carry on cooking for about 20 minutes until most of the moisture disappears.
Season to taste, and add your stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for around 20 minutes. Whiz the soup to a purée at this point (whiz depending on how chancy or smooth you want your soup to be). Bring to boil and add the cream. Thicken soup with roux a little by little until you get the right thickness. Seasoning carefully to taste.
Ladle soup into bowls and swirl in more cream and a few drips of truffle oil on the top. Serve hot with some bread to mop up the soup.
Labels: creamy, le creuset, Mushroom soup, porcini mushroom, portabello mushroom, recipe
