Soup glorious soup (creamy mushroom)

If there’s ever a time that I enjoy a nutritious bowl of piping hot soup, it has to be in the winter time.  Of course that’s probably everyone’s preference, but I do so enjoy soups in the summer as well.  Lunch time favorites are always a bowl of soup followed by some fruit, or at times it can venture into all kinds of flavor territories.  How about a good hearty chowder for dinner and a french loaf to satisfy those comfort cravings in the depths of winter?  I’ve recently started making bone broth in my slow cooker at least once a week.  Bone broth is rich in minerals and contains healing compounds. Soups are just fabulous in the cooler months, the possibilities are endless.  I’ve since delegated this task to hubby who has taken the job quite seriously.  He starts to sift through the varieties of soups about a week before, he makes a list and checks it twice 🙂

On this day he decided on a good creamy mushroom soup.

A drizzle of olive oil, freshly ground pepper and you’ve got comfort in a bowl right there.  This creamy mushroom soup is sure to warm you up from head to toe.

Creamy mushroom soup

• Servings: 6
• Time: 40 minutes
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Ingredients

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 pounds cremini or button mushrooms, cleaned, roughly chopped or sliced 1/8″ thick
• Small handful of shiitake mushrooms (chopped)
• 3/4 cup minced shallots
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup cream (I omit this and use yogurt instead)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Saute the mushrooms: Heat olive oil on medium high heat in a 5-6 quart thick-bottomed pot.  When the oil is hot, swirl in the butter.  Once the butter has melted, add the mushrooms on medium high heat until they are lightly browned and have released most of their water, about 10 minutes.
2. Remove 1 cup of the cooked mushrooms from the pot and set aside (they will be added in later).
3. Add shallots, garlic.  Reduce the heat to medium.  Add the minced shallots and the garlic to the pot, stir to combine, cook for a minute.
4. Add salt, tarragon, curry powder, and stock to the pot.  Increase the heat to medium high, then bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat.
5. Puree soup:  Using an immersion blender or working in batches with a standing blender, puree the soup until smooth.  If the soup is too thick, add extra water or stock.
6. Stir in cream and reserved mushrooms.  Whisk the cream into the soup and add the black pepper.  Adjust salt and pepper to taste.  Now add the reserved mushrooms.

Recipe adapted from: Simply Recipes