Monday, November 30, 2020

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.





25 comments:

  1. Yum, it looks wonderful! And what a great idea to use it as gravy as well.

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  2. Looks a nice soup and sound a good recipe.

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    1. Thanks Margaret, we were happy to have found this recipe.

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  3. It sounds good. I would go the vegie stock route though rather than chicken. We always have HP in our store cupboards here.

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    1. It would be easy to do and I am sure it would taste great. HP seems to be a world-wide favorite :)

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  4. Hello, Denise

    The soup looks delicious, I will be saving this recipe.
    Take care, have a happy new week!

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    1. Thanks Eileen, so glad you liked the look of this recipe. I wish you the same :)

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  5. I dislike cooking so much that when I have to open a can of Campbell's mushroom soup to dump it on top of whatever I'm using it for I even don't like to do that haha but this does look good and I know it was really tasty

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    1. Smiling here Sandra. There are days when I like to go the fast route and am not in the mood for cooking, but more often than not I like to get in the kitchen and try something different :)

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  6. It looks delicious, I'm definitely going to give it a try too. I like all the different ideas on ways to use it as well. thanks for sharing!

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    1. You are very welcome Martha, glad you like it enough to try. Thank you, I enjoy the different ideas also :)

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  7. Dziękuję Agnieszko, cieszę się, że spodobał Ci się ten przepis na zupę :)

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  8. You will never be able to use the canned version again!!!!!!! LOL...

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  9. I really like this idea of homemade Cream of Mushroom soup. Happy end of November and beginning of December to you!

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    1. It was delicious! Thank you Ellen, I wish you the same :)

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  10. There is nothing quite like homemade soup, Denise, and this one looks great. I enjoyed reading about your substitutions because as we all know sometimes we need to make do with what is in the fridge and pantry. Last week our homemade soup was turkey (wasn’t everyone’s?) and next will be butternut squash.

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    1. Hi Dorothy, I'm always making substitutions. I hope you'll share your homemade turkey soup and the butternut squash one :)

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  11. Denise, a bowl of this soup sure sounds good on a cold evening like tonight. I love hearing how you make a recipe using substitutions when necessary. To me, that's a sign of a very good cook.
    Thank you for always visiting my space and for checking up on me. I seem to have lost my writing mojo lately. It's been quite a busy time and I've missed visiting with you. Take care, my friend.

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    1. Hi Martha Ellen, so glad you like the sound of this and my notes afterwards. I am not sure if I am a good cook but I do like to follow a recipe. My hubby is the adventurous one and so we meet in the middle and come up with a meal that we enjoy, and hopefully others will too :))) I understand about losing the writing mojo. That has happened to me and I take a little break, which I think is a good thing to do. Our blogging friends understand when life gets really busy. Yes we miss you but it will be so lovely when you get back to your blog again. Take good care of yourself too and give yourself a hug. I will send my own. Come back when you are ready and able. We will be here :)

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  12. This looks and sounds delicious.

    All the best Jan

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    1. Happy you think so, thank you Jan and all the best to you too :)

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