Very Pinteresting...My First Pinterest Recipe: Cream of Mushroom Soup for Two

Shiitakes and Criminis. A good combo!

I held out for a long, long time. I was determined not to join the "time suck" of Pinterest. But I recently joined for career purposes (I am a marketing/communications professional - need to understand these things). I'm a convert. Hook, line and sinker. So much useful information on this site! And the recipes! So this little recipe is the first of the "Recipes I'd Like to Try" board on Pinterest that I've actually tried. I have since moved it to "Favorite Recipes." Yes indeed.

I must give props to "Season with Spice" - a fellow blogger who posted this recipe with stunning photos and what looks like a delicious Scandinavian bread. Check the original recipe here.

Ingredients:
2 cups of finely chopped mushrooms (I used shiitake and crimini).
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic - chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 - 2 bay leaf
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 tbsp flour dissolved in 1 tbsp water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
Freshly ground black pepper, salt and a dash of nutmeg to taste (get whole nutmeg and use a zester to grate it)
Fresh parsley or thyme for garnish (I pan fried some sliced shiitakes for the garnish)

 

Saute the garlic in the olive oil and butter.

Then add the mushrooms, thyme, bay leaf and Worcestershire* sauce and stir it up, let cook until the liquid from the 'shrooms dries up a bit (this creates a LOT of fabulous flavor. You're basically browning them. Brown = flavor!)

This is where I added a splash (like half of a cup) of red wine. Cook that down a little more and then add the chicken stock.

Chicken stock in with the mushrooms.

Bring to a boil and then turn down a little to simmer for 10 minutes. This is reducing it and intensifying the flavors.

After it has simmered add the flour/water mixture. Stir it constantly to mix it in. Bring this to a boil and boil for at least a minute (otherwise it will taste like flour)

This is where the recipe suggests you season. The only time you should season a soup is *just* before serving. You are building flavors during this whole process and to salt or pepper before the end could result in over seasoning.

Add the cream and milk and stir. Remove the bay leaf. Then season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg (the nutmeg is key!)

Garnish with some pan-fried, sliced shiitakes. And enjoy with a salad or a grilled cheese sandwich or just alone. Scrumptious!!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

The recipe is scalable - so if you need to make more - just double it. And next time I make it I will likely use my immersion blender to puree the soup and then add some larger cut mushrooms for texture.

* All of you who have lived in Massachusetts or England, no need to read this. The rest of you: repeat after me: "Wus-stir-shur." Some might say "Wis-stir-shur" but still...it is NOT Worchester-shire).