I thought you might enjoy my latest creation, Sonia Urbaniak, Kathleen Vosburgh and Judy Wilson: Bunnells Mushroom Soup: 6 cups assorted mushroom, medium-small chop *(1) 1 1/4 C shallots - fine chop 1 1/4 C celery, stalk and leaves - diced 1 1/4 C carrots - diced 1 32 oz. carton mushroom broth *(2) 1 32 oz carton beef broth *(2) 2 T vegetable broth paste 2 tsp dried thyme or several sprigs fresh thyme *(3) 1 T dried parsley or several sprigs fresh parsley 4 T ghee (aka, clarified butter) or unsalted butter 5 T flour - divided 1 C milk 1/2 C half and half 1/2 C dry vermouth, dry sherry or dry white wine Salt and ground black pepper to taste *(1) I suppose you could use just one type of mushroom, e.g. cremini, but the combination of mushrooms really added complex flavor. I used cremini, wood ear, trumpet, shitake and oyster for my first batch, but you can get creative with whatever you have available. *(2) Either or both of these can be substituted with vegetable broth *(3) If using fresh thyme; take several sprigs and combine them in a bunch with a clean rubber band. Cook in the broth mixture and remove before using the immersion blender. Heat ghee/butter over medium heat in a medium pan. Saute mushrooms in butter until browned and most of the moisture has been released. Salt lightly and add freshly ground pepper.. Add shallots and continue to saute until they are almost clear. Add dry vermouth and continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add carrots and celery. Saute lightly, until slightly softened. Dont over-cook the celery and carrot, they will continue to cook in the broth. Sprinkle three tablespoons of flour over vegetable, stirring to completely coated the mixture. Cook for about 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. In a separate soup pot, combine broths, vegetable broth paste, thyme and dry parsley. If you are using fresh parsley, add it to the very end of cooking. Bring mixture to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add vegetable mixture to the broth and simmer for about 10 minutes. Use an immersion blender to blend the lower 1/3 - 1/2 of soup mixture. You could probably do the same thing with a regular blender, but I would avoid food processors, since many of them leak with soup. Make sure you dont blend the entire batch. You will want lots of bits of vegetables to remain unblended. Add remaining 2 T flour to a jar and add milk. Shake vigorously until combined and stir into soup. Continue to simmer soup until slightly thickened. Stir in half and half and heat through, but do not boil. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. The next time I make this, I may had a bit of crispy bacon or pancetta and perhaps some croutons to the top of the soup when served.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 17:01:26 +0000