There’s a fine line between a mushroom soup that’s gorgeously rich in flavour and one that’s reminiscent of a can from the supermarket. Thankfully today I’m going to show you the first. I’ve got a few tips and tricks to really transforming a mushroom soup into a show-stopping meal! Follow me…
Mushroom Soup
Arguably the most important part of the soup is indeed the mushrooms themselves. So, let’s talk shrooms.
What kind of mushrooms should I use?
I love using chestnut mushrooms for the deeper colour and slightly deeper/meatier flavour. Then just some baby button mushrooms to balance the flavour/colour. You can use different mushrooms if you prefer – regular white closed-cup mushrooms work great, as do portobellos. When it comes to cooking the mushrooms, you may think it’s a case of throwing them in the pan and frying until soft. But, this shouldn’t be the case. Frying the mushrooms is a crucial step in enhancing the soup.
Tips for frying the mushrooms
Work in batches – Putting too many mushrooms in the pan at once will cause them to steam instead of fry. Working in two batches will give the mushrooms room to properly caramelise and develop flavour. Don’t annoy them – Try to leave the mushrooms to have direct contact with the pan as best you can. Stirring them about will reduce their ability to properly develop flavour in the pan. Salt – adding salt to the mushrooms will draw out moisture, so do it after they’ve browned. I find that adding salt at the beginning allows too much moisture to come out, which again encourages steaming instead of frying.
In terms of extra goodies to go in the soup with the mushrooms, I love adding leek, celery and garlic, alongside thyme and a beef oxo cube. All of these help develop a gorgeous depth of flavour. Process shots: fry mushrooms in butter and oil (photos 1, 2 & 3), fry leek, celery and garlic (photos 4 & 5), add stock, oxo, thyme and firm part of leek (photo 6).
Cream of Mushroom Soup
If there was ever a time to utilise the firm part of a leek, it’s now. You can add it in as the soup simmers and remove it before blitzing. Don’t waste the bonus flavour! Once the soup has simmered and the flavours have all married together, you can go ahead and blitz the soup and stir in the cream.
Soup Consistency
This is really up to you. I like the soup quite thick, but you can thin it out with more stock if you wish. Alternatively, to thicken the soup just continue to simmer with the lid off. Process shots: remove leek (photo 1), blitz soup (photo 2), add cream (photo 3), stir (photo 4).
Crostini
Every soup needs a dunker! These garlic gruyere crostini are PERFECT for a mushroom soup. Just bake some bread and rub it with raw garlic. The garlic is optional, but highly recommended, given garlic and mushrooms are a match made in heaven. For the cheese I love using gruyere – it pairs so perfectly with this soup. Something like Comte or cheddar would make a good sub though. For the bread, I recommend something like sourdough or ciabatta, both of which crisp up really nicely. Process shots: spray bread with oil (photo 1), bake then rub with garlic (photo 2), top with cheese (photo 3), bake again (photo 4).
Serving Creamy Mushroom Soup
I like to hold back some of the cooked mushrooms and save them for garnish. I also like an extra drizzle of cream, a pinch of black pepper and some parsley. Although all of these are optional. Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this creamy mushroom soup shall we?!
How to make Creamy Mushroom Soup (Full Recipe & Video)
