Fall seems to be gone away, so quickly that it barely registered in my mind, except my few fall foliage trips, trees seems to shed leaves early and few days of surprise snow in October, pushed us in the winter with prolonged cold days, sometimes with intermittent warm sunny days but with a chill in the air, which is very typical of winter mornings.
A warm hearty bowl of soup or stew is all what we needed, what we craved for our body, for our soul, rich and creamy with nice aroma that fills the kitchen and lingers in the air for long , with some root vegetables thrown in, peppered with some seasonings and a spoon to dive into this healthy and hearty indulgence of comfort food…a total bliss for cold winter days.
Rich and creamy mushroom soup was long in my list to-do, and when I saw it in Swetha’s blog with whom I have been paired this week for blog-hop Wednesdays, a fun event which is in its 2nd edition started by Radhika of Tickling palates, my craving re-surfaced and I immediately bookmarked it. Swetha’s has an envious array of International cuisine and given a choice, it was really difficult to select a one, out of so many delicious recipes.
For the original recipe of mushroom soup, you can hop to Swetha’s blog, I have tried to keep it simple, like her except I have used some dried thyme in place of parsley leaves (as I don’t have any parsley in pantry), which just brings a different flavor to the soup. You can off course tweak it to your heart’s desire.
Cream of mushroom soup is very simple soup with cream or milk being added to mushroom broth and sometimes people also uses plain flour in it to give a smooth texture which is again very much in sync with French Bechamel or Italian white sauces and in such cases, the leftovers of creamy mushroom soup sometimes has also been used as a base for variety of casseroles, pastas and other comfort foods.
Ingredients:
Button mushrooms : 250gm
Olive oil / butter : 1 tbsp
Red Onion : 1 small chopped
Vegetable stock / mushroom stock : 1 cup
Plain flour : 1 tbsp (optional)
Milk / low fat cream : 1 cup
a pinch of dried thyme or 1 tbsp of fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground black peppers
Method:
Separate the mushroom caps from their stalk and keep aside 6-7 perfect caps for garnishing.
Slice the remaining mushroom caps and finely chopped the stalks.
Heat a deep bottom non-stick saucepan and add a teaspoon of olive oil, followed by some butter if you prefer.
Add the onions and fry them for couple of minutes. Add the sliced and chopped mushrooms and fry them for couple of minutes more, stirring frequently.
Cover and sweat over a gentle heat for 6-7 minutes, stirring from time to time.
Stir in the flour and cook for about 1 minute.
Gradually add the vegetable or mushroom stock and milk / cream to make a thin sauce.
Add the dried or fresh thyme, check the salt and add some freshly crushed black pepper powder to taste.
Bring it to the boil and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.
Cool the soup slightly and then pour into a blender, process until smooth.
In a separate pan add some oil or butter and fry the mushroom caps till you got a nice golden brown hue for about 3-4 minutes until they are just tender.
Pour the soup in a clean pan, stir in the fried mushroom caps, heat it until hot, sprinkle some fresh or dried thyme and serve hot in a soup bowl, alone or with your choice of bread or bread sticks. We had it with some leftover pumpkin breads.
Tips :
- Never cook mushroom in an aluminum pan, it will blacken the color of mushroom.
- If you are using flour in this recipe, then leftover soup can be used as a base for creamy pasta dishes, or vegetable and chicken casseroles.
This post is also linked to Valli’s Soup & Salads mela and Radhika’s Winter carnival
Enjoy and have a good day
Sukanya
43 Comments
Priyanka
November 2, 2011 at 2:01 pmA very yummy soup….very tempting
saffronstreaks
November 3, 2011 at 8:16 amThanks dear 🙂
CurryLeaf
November 2, 2011 at 2:25 pmLooks Great, Thanks for trying. Hope you enjoyed it.
saffronstreaks
November 3, 2011 at 8:15 amIts my pleasure, I must say you have some envious collection of recipes at your space
Sumedha
November 2, 2011 at 2:50 pmLooks so rich and comforting… First time on ur blog.. Very nice space.
saffronstreaks
November 3, 2011 at 8:14 amWelcome Sumedha, we hope you enjoyed your stay here, hop to yours soon
Priya
November 2, 2011 at 3:15 pmOmg, wat a droolworthy and super tempting soup..
saffronstreaks
November 3, 2011 at 8:13 amThanks 🙂
nisha
November 2, 2011 at 3:21 pmPerfect for winter.
saffronstreaks
November 3, 2011 at 8:12 am🙂
sportsglutton
November 2, 2011 at 6:37 pmI love mushrooms and I love soup. Perfect recipe for me and the cooling fall temperatures.
saffronstreaks
November 3, 2011 at 8:12 amI am also a big fan of mushroom too, and I just loved their color in soup, though I hate the big slurpy pieces of mushrooms
aipi
November 2, 2011 at 7:39 pmPerfect for the weather ~ comfy n hearty it looks!
USMasala
saffronstreaks
November 3, 2011 at 8:10 amsudden snow pushed us into the soup mode now 🙂
Rajani
November 3, 2011 at 12:05 amI am a big fan of mushroom soup. yours look lovely! nice clicks too
saffronstreaks
November 3, 2011 at 8:10 amthank you for loving it
Sanjeeta kk
November 3, 2011 at 12:38 amEasy and refreshing soup!
saffronstreaks
November 3, 2011 at 8:09 amwell said 🙂
Tes
November 3, 2011 at 4:21 amIt looks so warm and comforting 🙂
saffronstreaks
November 3, 2011 at 8:09 amtrue…nice to see you here after long time
iva | in my kitchen
November 3, 2011 at 6:20 amI love cream of mushroom! anything creamy goes well with me!
saffronstreaks
November 3, 2011 at 8:09 amyeah..cream improves the taste of soup little bit, but thinking of substituting it with coconut milk. for health freaks
Kadhyaa
November 3, 2011 at 7:18 ammy all time favourite soup..looks tempting
saffronstreaks
November 3, 2011 at 8:07 am🙂 mine too
prathibha
November 3, 2011 at 7:43 amvery delicious soup…looks damn tempting
saffronstreaks
November 3, 2011 at 8:07 amthank u. glad that you liked it
Archana
November 3, 2011 at 9:51 amMust try. Thanks for your tip of cooking them in aluminium pan you solved a mystery. Its okay to use nonstick
Hosting an event which I am calling Back to our Roots Also hosting for Nov’11 Veggie Food for the Month_Raw Banana.
saffronstreaks
November 3, 2011 at 2:13 pmIt happens to me too, so I always use non stick to cook mushroom
Radhika
November 3, 2011 at 9:51 amLove the bowl and the soup in it. perfect for the weather.
saffronstreaks
November 3, 2011 at 2:14 pmthanks, oh…the bowl, its latest addition in my collection
Priya Sreeram
November 3, 2011 at 10:01 amhearty & comforting
sayantani
November 3, 2011 at 1:48 pmmy fav. winter warmer…looks awesome.
saffronstreaks
November 3, 2011 at 2:15 pmglad that you liked it
Sadaf Afshan
November 3, 2011 at 9:51 pmI have been looking for a Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe………yours looks perfect.
saffronstreaks
November 4, 2011 at 10:27 amthanks Sadaf
easyfoodsmith
November 4, 2011 at 9:24 amMy daughter and I love mushrooms and this soup definitely is our favourite! Yummy post 🙂
saffronstreaks
November 4, 2011 at 10:29 amThis mushroom soup is kids friendly too, so am sure your daughter will love it.
Pari
November 4, 2011 at 1:13 pmLove this soup and with the onset of winter, surely it is welcome.
FOODELICIOUS
EVENT FOR NOVEMBER & GIVEAWAY, ‘ONLY’- CURRIES
Peggy
November 7, 2011 at 4:34 pmI love cream of mushroom soup – especially the leftovers – they’re perfect for green bean casserole =)
Deboshree
November 14, 2011 at 10:32 amNow I feel strong enough to face the Delhi winter. 😀
Srivalli Jetti
November 23, 2011 at 4:29 amLooks wonderful!..thanks for sending this for the mela..
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