MONDAY RECIPE POST - CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP FROM SCRATCH

I found my recipe at Cafe Delites hosted by Karina.  The link is here.  I would like to thank Karina for a great tasting soup.

A first-class replacement for the canned variety by the way.  We both gave this soup a 10 out of 10.

Serves: 6

Calories: 271 per serving

 

4 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon oil

2 onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 pounds (750 g) fresh brown mushrooms, sliced

4 teaspoons chopped thyme, divided

1/2 cup Marsala wine (any dry red or white wine)

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups low sodium chicken broth or stock

1-2 teaspoons salt, adjust to taste

1/2-1 teaspoon black cracked pepper, adjust to taste

2 beef bouillon cubes, crumbled

1 cup heavy cream or half and half (evaporated milk can be substituted)

Chopped fresh parsley and thyme for garnish

Heat butter and oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until melted. Sauté onion for 2 to 3 minutes until softened.

Next add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add mushrooms and 2 teaspoons thyme, cook for 5 minutes. Pour in wine and cook for 3 minutes.

Sprinkle mushrooms with flour, mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Add stock, mix again and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low-medium heat, season with salt, pepper and crumbled bouillon cubes.

Cover and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes, while occasionally stirring, until thickened.

Reduce heat to low, stir in cream or half and half. Allow to gently simmer (do not boil). Adjust salt and pepper to your taste.

Mix in parsley and remaining thyme. 

Serve warm. 

I read a lot of comments underneath the original recipe at Cafe Delites, and got some great ideas.  I highly recommend going to the original to read those.  Also for more information at the beginning from its host.

I was looking for a replacement to a chicken pie recipe I am making, which calls for 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup.  As I did not have the canned and like the idea of making something from scratch, I found this one.

Changes made because of what was in the pantry:

I used 1 teaspoon of garlic powder instead of the four garlic cloves

Also 1 teaspoon of dried thyme instead of the 4 teaspoons of chopped fresh thyme, or to taste  

White mushrooms instead of brown.

Instead of the Marsala wine we had a bottle of Beringer's White Zinfandel.  This is a wine we both enjoy occasionally.

No fresh parsley to garnish but used plenty of black pepper to sprinkle over.

Instead of the bouillon cubes which I did not have, I used a tablespoon of HP Brown Sauce.  It is like A1 steak sauce here.

If I couldn't find HP I would use A1, which was my next choice except that it was way in the back behind loads of other items, and I put my hands on the HP first.  You could also use Worcestershire Sauce.

If I knew ahead of time that I was going to make this recipe, I would probably get all fresh herbs, but the dried worked just fine.  I would probably have a lot more flavor if I used fresh.  But honestly?  This was one of the best mushroom soups - for both our tastes - that we have ever come across, and will most definitely be making it again.

Apparently you can freeze it.  Another commenter mentioned that it looks curdled when it is thawed, but heats up well.  I am wondering, as I read from another commenter, if you added the dairy after thawing the soup, this might stop the curdled look. I would add the cream when the soup is heating up on a medium-low heat   

I used 2% milk and the soup was still very creamy tasting.

I like to read the comment section afterwards, and saw a lot of interesting tips on there.  

Someone said they would use this soup as a gravy at Thanksgiving. Another said they would put it into the green bean casserole instead of using the canned variety.  I make green bean casserole every time for Thanksgiving, and I can see doing this.   I can also see using it as a gravy.  We also thought this would be delicious over rice or noodles or mashed potatoes.

There were a lot of different ideas that you might enjoy tailoring to your own taste.  These were a few of them.

I served this with a crusty bread which I sliced and toasted.

Thanks for taking the time to visit, and I hope your week is a great one.