I’ve been cooking up a mushroom storm. Mushroom toasts, a delicious croustade (which is on my blog to-do list), on salads and just plain with garlic butter but this wild mushroom soup is one of my absolute favourites. I meant to blog it last year but as usual, I always seem to have more blog ideas than time.
I thoroughly enjoyed this summer and gave myself some much needed downtime. At the lake with my kids and family as well as some stay-cations up and down Vancouver Island. Our summer ended abruptly and with a ton of rain but the silver lining is the incredible mushroom season we’ve been having. Chanterelle and Lobster mushrooms were prolific in our area and we tried three new kinds this year. Hedgehog mushrooms which we loved, Pigs Ear that were so-so for us, and Puffballs which were a collective yuck in our house, any of you like them?
What makes this mushroom soup different than others is that the mushrooms are pureed with a secret ingredient for the body of the soup. A small amount of this amazing flavour bomb enriches and deepens the flavour and makes this stand out from every other mushroom soup you’ve likely ever tried.
What’s the secret ingredient? Porcini mushroom powder! Just pop a small bag of the dried porcini (usually 1/2 oz or 1 oz bags at grocery store) into a small blender or food processor and pulse until mostly powdery with only a few small pieces remaining. This mushroom powder is absolutely delicious in gravy or to kick up the depth and umami of many vegetarian dishes. I pop the leftover powder back in the bag and keep it close by my stove.
Welcome to soup season my friends!!!
West Coast Wild Mushroom Soup
A warm and hearty soup rich with porcini and wild mushrooms. You can use cultivated mushrooms but if so, don't skip the porcini or the soup will be too bland. To make your own porcini powder simply process dried porcini mushrooms in your food processor or blender.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 5 c Mixed Wild Mushrooms, diced About 1 lb
- 1 1/2 c Onion, diced
- 1 tbsp Thyme Sprigs or 1/2 tsp dried
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 tbsp Porcini Powder Dried porcini mushrooms ground finely in blender or food processor.
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 1/3 c Flour
- 4 c Chicken Broth or vegetable broth
- 1/4 c Dry White Wine Unoaked
- 1 c Heavy Cream
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Parsley and Thyme to garnish
Instructions
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Heat oil on medium in a mid-sized pot, then add onion and saute until translucent. Add mushrooms, thyme, bay and porcini, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and saute until starting to brown lightly. Remove 1/2 cup of these mushrooms to a bowl and save for garnish.
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Turn heat to low, push mushrooms to side of pan and add butter to other side to melt. Once melted, add flour, stir and cook until lightly bubbling. Add broth and wine and stir vigorously to prevent lumps. Simmer 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently, remove herb sprigs and puree with an immersion blender (or in a regular blender very carefully).
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Add cream, reserving 2 tbsp if desired for garnish, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Turn off heat as soon as soup cream is heated and pour into bowls, garnishing with herbs, reserved mushrooms and additional cream if desired.
