FRESH MUSHROOM SOUP
Serves 4; Cooking time is about 45 min.
This soup turned out to have amazing flavor and texture! I started searching online for a mushroom soup recipe and found they tend to have either milk or cream added or a lot of butter and flour, none of which fit into my idea of a healthy soup, so I created my own. I did borrow the idea of roasting the mushrooms from a Food and Wine recipe , but decided not to roast them until they were crunchy, instead I just roasted them until they shriveled down some, lost most of their water and just became little flavor-bombs. When the soup is blended with the cooked vegetables it looks like it might be creamy, but there is no dairy or flour in it! I think the soup is pretty healthy and not too fussy. My picky son actually ate a whole bowl of it and my husband ate a couple of bowls of it (he was hungry?). I served it with a chopped salad of kale, romaine and butter lettuces; chopped carrots, avocado, tomatoes and a hard-boiled egg for a little protein with a little shredded mixed Mexican cheese I had leftover from the enchiladas a couple of days ago and some toasted pine nuts. I dressed it with a very simple dressing made of extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and freshly ground black pepper.
INGREDIENTS:
• 1 lb shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, tops thinly sliced
• 1 lb cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
• olive oil
• ½ sweet or yellow onion, chopped
• 1 large clove of garlic, chopped
• 1 oz package of dried porcini mushrooms
• salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped (or 2 teaspoons dry oregano) — reserve a few fresh leaves (if using) to garnish with.
• 1 cup water
• 4 cups of vegetable stock (or unsalted/low sodium vegetable broth)
PREPARATION:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place about ¼ of the sliced shiitake mushrooms, cremini mushrooms and the carrots on a lightly greased (cooking spray) baking sheet. Drizzle about a tablespoon or so of olive oil on the vegetables and season lightly with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 10 minutes. Check on them, if they have shrunken and dried out some they may be ready, if not cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
3. Heat 1–2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot on medium heat. When hot, add chopped onions, garlic and remaining carrots. Sauté for 5 minutes.
4. Add remaining uncooked shiitake and cremini mushrooms to the onion mixture in the pot, season with salt and pepper and add 3 thyme sprigs, white wine and the fresh or dry oregano and sauté with for 5 more minutes.
5. Add dry porcini mushrooms, water and vegetable stock to the pot with the sautéed vegetables. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat to gently simmer the soup for 30 minutes with the lid on.
6. Remove thyme sprigs, peeling the leaves off and returning them to the pot but throwing away the stems. Pour soup into a blender (or use an immersion blender) and carefully blend until completely smooth. Return soup to the pot, add additional salt and pepper if needed. Add the roasted mushrooms and carrots, ladle into bowls and garnish with a little fresh thyme and oregano. Enjoy!
