Mushroom Cream Soup

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What earthy bowl of goodness encapsulates centuries of culinary history, the secret world of mycelium with an added twist of brandy?

It’s homemade mushroom cream soup; not the condensed kind found in a tin can.

The Delights of Homemade Mushroom Soup

Stay away from that stuff.

French and Italian chefs have been cooking creamy mushroom dishes for centuries.

And you can easily make a bowl of mushroom cream soup from scratch that abounds with earthy and comforting tastes, rich aromas, and a depth of flavor you will never experience from the canned version.

Add mushroom cream soup to your weeknight cooking repertoire.

Serve it as a starter, main, or companion to a sandwich or salad.

Anyway you dish it up, mushroom cream soup is delectable and delicious, and good for you.

The Nutritious Benefits of Mushroom Soup

The star of the show is the lowly mushroom.

It’s neither fruit nor vegetable even though you find them on the produce aisle, it is a fungus.

A mushroom is the fruiting body of a web of an underground root-like structure called mycelium. The mushroom’s purpose is to release spores that will help spead the growth of the mycelium.

Most mushrooms today are typically grown in indoor farms. When exposed to sunlight or ultraviolet lights, mushrooms produce Vitamin D, often referred to as the sunshine vitamin.

Mushrooms are the only source of Vitamin D you will find on the produce aisle.

Review the nutrition label on your mushrooms to determine if they contain Vitamin D.

Tips for Making Mushroom Cream Soup at Home

1. Use crimini mushrooms. They have a more earthy flavor than the white button mushrooms.
2. My recipe calls for bit of brandy to deglaze the pan after sautéing the mushrooms. Don’t forgo this step. The brandy adds a bit of sweetness and balances out the earthiness of the mushrooms.
3. Garnish creatively. My personal preference is to add a bit of crunch with homemade croutons. You can also add some chopped fresh chives and reserved sautéed mushrooms. Or all three.

Mushroom cream soup is a comforting bowl of warmth and a testament to culinary creativity with a nutritional powerhouse and lowly fungus – the mushroom.

Make it today!

Here are some of my favorite recipes that use mushrooms:

• Goat Cheese and Sage Stuffed Mushrooms
• Roasted Pork Tenderloin with a Brandy, Mushroom, and Thyme Cream Sauce

Mushroom Cream Soup

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The soup comes together lickety-split on a weeknight. It’s filled with flavor, earthy and warm. You’re going to want to add this one to your weeknight repertoire.

• Author: Life At The Table
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 6-8 1 cup servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup yellow onion, small dice
• 1/2 cup celery, small dice
• 4 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
• 16 oz crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• 1/3 cup brandy
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• kosher salt

Garnish (optional)

• Reserve some of the sautéed mushrooms to add as a garnish.
• Croutons
• Chives, fresh thyme, or other fresh herbs that will complement the flavors
• Red pepper flakes

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Instructions

1. Sweat the onions and celery in the butter until soft.
2. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Add the mushrooms and season lightly with kosher salt.
4. Sauté the mushroom mixture until the mushrooms give off their liquid and are nicely browned.
5. Add the brandy to deglaze the pan, stirring to scoop up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan.
6. Bring the brandy to a simmer; simmer for 2-3 minutes to burn off the alcohol.
7. Add the stock; bring to a boil.
8. Reduce the heat to a simmer.
9. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
10. Remove from the heat and allow the soup to cool for just a bit.
11. Purée the soup with a blender, food processor or an immersion blender.
12. Return the soup to the pot.
13. Add the cream, thyme, and cayenne.
14. Return the soup to a simmer; simmer for 5 minutes or until the flavors are blended.
15. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed with kosher salt.

Notes

• I’m a red pepper flake fiend. You will find it as a garnish on almost everything I eat.