MY MOTHER’S CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP
It ought to be called the “Oooh, Aaah Soup” because, besides the slurps, that is what you’ll hear as it goes down.
Photo from Dmitry Kovalchuk on unsplash.com
Madeleine’s Cream of Mushroom Soup
Make 8-10 cups
Ingredients
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, both portions cut up and near room temperature
1 pound mushrooms (either white button, cremini or portobello, or any mix of the three), 3/4 finely chopped, 1/4 sliced
3/4 cup flour
6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade and low-salt or unsalted
1 pint half & half
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
Healthy splash dry sherry (not “cooking sherry”), about 2-3 tablespoons
Directions
In a large heavy Dutch oven or pot, over medium-high heat, sauté the onion in 1/2 cup butter for 3 minutes. Add the 3/4 pound of the mushrooms and sauté the mixture for 5 minutes. Add the flour, coating and stirring constantly until the lot is well-blended. Add the stock and simmer the mixture, stirring often, for 20 minutes.
Add the half & half, the salt and white pepper, and bring the soup to a gentle boil. Using an immersion blender (the best option) or a regular blender or fine sieve, blend everything. (If using a regular blender, be careful about splash-backs.) Keep the soup very warm, even hot.
Sauté the 1/4 pound sliced mushrooms in the 2 tablespoons butter and the sherry until the mushrooms have given up their moisture and are beginning to brown or slightly crisp. Garnish each portion of the soup with a few of the sautéed mushrooms.
Variations: Top with croutons or toast rounds (the latter smeared with blue cheese if you like). Add pieces of leftover chicken, pork, turkey or veal. Add leftover cooked rice, wild or regular. Sprinkle with chopped flat leaf parsley. For a French air, sprinkle fresh thyme leaves; for a Russian or Polish twist, omit flour, cooking at that stage with a cup and half of peeled, cubed potatoes and, when serving, top with fresh dill.
How to clean mushrooms: We grew up in the kitchen hearing “Never wash mushrooms in water because they’re porous and will absorb the water. Instead brush or wipe them, one at a time, with a soft brush or kitchen towel” Pshaw. Mushrooms are 90% water and won’t absorb any significant water (so say Mark Bittman, Martha Stewart and the Cooks Illustrated kitchens—not a bad lot, that). Dunk or spray-wash quickly, then remove to a dry cotton towel and pat dry with paper toweling.