Shown with oregano and ancho chile garnish
Synopsis: Today was mushroom-fest at culinary school! Well, for my team anyway. We made some cream of mushroom soup and a nice mushroom ragout. I always shudder when I think of the gelatinous cream of mushroom sliding out of a can, but the real stuff is a totally different experience.
I’d like to spice up the recipe next time with some garlic or herbs, or by switching it to a more savory stock (beef, probably). But still, the finished product from today was good. (And popular! It was almost gone when I checked it before going home!) As always, let me know if you have any suggestions to spice it up!
Be sure to have enough flour and butter in here for the roux – ours didn’t thicken hardly at all, and we had to resort to a cornstarch slurry, which is an inferior way to thicken a soup.
Recipe: Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Button mushrooms, whole
- Other mushrooms if desired (portabella, morel, etc.)
- Onion, diced
- Flour for roux
- Chicken stock
- Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper
- Heavy cream
First saute the onions with butter in the bottom of a large pot. Use a lot of butter, because this will turn into the roux later. When the onions start to turn translucent, add in the mushrooms and stir. (Make sure to rinse the mushrooms with water first). As the mushrooms are cooking, warm up the stock in a separate pan. Continue to cook the mushrooms until they shrink down and get moist – they should start releasing a good amount of water. Add flour into the mushroom mixture to soak up all of the water and butter, and stir to form the roux. Now add the heated stock and mix well. If you added enough flour, it should start to thicken up after it comes to a simmer. If it doesn’t thicken enough, you can add a slurry of cornstarch and cold water to thicken it further.
Now it’s time for the immersion blender! (Or regular blender if you don’t have one). This is why you didn’t have to chop the mushrooms – it’s all going to be pureed, anyway. Puree it good and add salt, pepper, Worcestershire, and other herbs/spices as desired. When the taste meets your approval, you are done!