Mushroom Soup

This is soup is probably one of the most loved and hated of all soups.  It can be incredibly simple and quite a sophisticated dish.

If you love fungi then, this soup is up there in the hall of fame and probably on your list of favourite comfort foods.

The basic recipe is one part onions, four parts mushrooms, vegetable stock and seasoning.  Most recipes liquidise it and thicken it and some add sherry or brandy, the variations are almost endless.

One of the things I love about this recipe is traditionally it was a recipe of no waste.  One recipe, which alas I cannot remember where I read it, dated from nineteenth century and described this as a peasant dish and to use your herbs in their entirety.  Ever since I read this, I made sure that when using parsley for this soup, I use the stalks as well as the leaves.

A basic recipe with proportions go something like this:

• 10 mls of vegetable oil
• one large onion, sliced or roughly chopped
• one tablespoon of plain flour
• 200 grams of mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 10 grams of parsley, leaves roughly chopped, stalks finely chopped
• 600 mls of stock or cold water
• salt and pepper to taste

In a deep pan, heat the oil and add the onion and finely chopped parsley stalks until softened.  Then add the mushrooms so that they are evenly coated and just start to turn colour.  Add the flour and "cook" for a few minutes, stiring frequently so that it doesn't catch the bottom of the pan.

Add a third of the stock and keep stiring and, as the soup thickens add the remaining chopped parsley.  Turn down the heat and allow to simmer gently for a few minutes, after which add the remaining stock and cover for about 20 to 30 minutes and then turn off the heat and allow to stand for a further 20 to 30 minutes or overnight.

Prior to reheating and depending upon your personal choice, this is the point you liquidise or not, as now you will add any additional ingredients, including your choice of seasonings.  If you prefer texture to your soup leave your creation be and don't be tempted to bow to convention!

Put your pan on low to medium heat and bring the temperature of the soup up gradually.  As it does so, grate a little nutmeg and and pour in 50 mls of dry sherry or 25 mls of cognac.  Stir and bring the temperature to just below simmering point. 

At this stage add 25 to 50 mls of single cream stir and then taste for seasoning.  Add salt and pepper, wait a further five or ten minutes and taste again, once you are happy, you are ready to serve.

My own personal tastes only differs slightly from the above, I tend to add a large chopped garlic clove to the first stage with the onions and chopped parsley stalks and add a teaspoon of smoked sweet paprika along with the flour.  I'm a sherry and mushrooms man rather than using cognac.

My friend Marie introduced me to tarragon as a herb of choice for a more textural mushroom stew, which is extremely good.  Less liquid, and has the addition of a bulb of fennel, roughly chopped which is added at the same time as the onions and spears of asparagus which are added at the end.