I read a blog written by a man in France. He writes his posts in French and English. He owns and runs a Bed and Breakfast in France. He takes fabulous pictures and posts a lot of yummy and interesting recipes. One recipe he posted I couldn’t wait to try, but I had to. When I read the post it was the week of Thanksgiving and I was going out of town so I couldn’t make the recipe. When I got back I had forgotten about it, but he replied to my comment which notifies me so I was reminded. I went to the store the next day to get the ingredients. There are only two or three in his recipe (I added a couple more)! It is so easy. It is one of those dishes that tastes rich and fancy but it super simple. The link to his post is here. Do go to his blog and check it out. As I was making this I realized his recipes are like mine or mine are like his — a guide. Here is how I made his mushroom soup recipe.
I only bought two pounds of mushrooms because 1) I thought that would be enough for my husband and I and 2) Mushrooms are $4.49 a pound and I didn’t want to spend $20.00 on mushrooms. 🙂 I also only purchased two shallots. I thought I had one in my refrigerator but I didn’t so I only ended up using two. Which was fine. I also didn’t use any cream. With his recipe he put a drizzle of cream on top or instructed how to blend it in. I didn’t bother with the cream. I am so glad I didn’t because the mushrooms and shallots are rich enough. It was so yummy. I am going to make it again this week.
I wash my mushrooms. I know many chefs say to just dust them off, but . . . . I prefer to wash mine.
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Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
(makes 4 servings)
2 large shallots, roughly chopped
3 tbsp butter
2 lbs mushrooms, quartered
1-2 cups white wine
1-2 cups water
2 tbsp chopped onion
2-4 tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese
Heat a tablespoon of butter. Once melted add the chopped shallots and a tablespoon of butter. Cook the shallots, when they start to become translucent add the mushroom and the remaining tablespoon of butter. Cook/brown the mushrooms. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add enough white wine and water in combination (whatever combination YOU desire) to cover the mushrooms. Bring to a boil. Lower the temperature to a simmer. Simmer for 30 – 40 minutes.
Blend in a blender or with a stick blender.
Once blended, spoon/pour into bowls. Top each bowl with chopped onions and Parmesan cheese.
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Be certain that you blend the soup according to your blenders specifications — most instructions on blenders say to cool before blending. I barely let mine cool because I wanted hot soup. I have a Blendtec which heats the soup up while it blends. So, blend and heat as is necessary according to your blender. Stéphane’s recipe recommends garnishing the soup with mushrooms. I know that presentation is a big part of serving dinner and he is really good at that. For me, I am just happy to get a meal on the table and I rarely think of presentation. You may be better at that than me so please — have at it. I am convinced that the presentation — no matter what it is will be long forgotten once they taste this soup. It is so yummy, they won’t care how it is served!
I am grateful to Stephane for posting such a simple recipe that is so yummy! My husband really loved this so we will be eating it often.
Do you like mushrooms? Can you believe how simple this soup is? What are you going to add to this recipe to make it perfect for you?