superlatively souper
A couple months ago, I briefly mentioned making a wild mushroom soup from Gourmet magazine that was, you know, good, but also, eh. But shame on me, really, because last year we found the perfect, best-ever, fail-proof, tastiest recipe so why did I fall for the shiny new thing? Isn’t that the point of all this trial-and-error, anyway? I’m always trying to catalogue Recipes That Work, also called Recipes to Share you know, the ones that you try and you think “This is it. This is everything I have ever wanted from a [insert beloved grub here],” even if yes, I know, most people probably do not share my fanaticism about beloved grub. Lemon cake? Done. Banana bread? Found that too. Easy-peasy rustic loaf? Yup, and hooray for that. Chocolate cookies so good, it may bring tears to your eyes? That’s for tomorrow, because I am a tease, and also because I think about them again, I might eat five. Best-ever mushroom soup? I will never doubt you again.
What was missing from the bland mushroom soup was bulk. So many varied soup recipes come down to a similar process: a sauté of onions, leeks or garlic and herbs, a pile of vegetables simmered in stock until soft, then pureed and topped with cream, grated cheese or a splash of booze or if you’re super-lucky, all three. But if you want to make it taste like more than watery vegetables, you’re going to need some volume. Balthazar’s cream of mushroom soup has over two pounds of sliced mushrooms with a relatively small volume of broth coaxing it gently into soup form — there’s nothing more worthy of your spoon. You might, ahem, even determine that it tastes so good, that no, you will not share it and will instead eat it standing over the pot, hungry husbands be damned, even when they catch your selfishness on film. But then again maybe not, as you’re probably a nicer person than me. One can only hope.
Balthazar Cream of Mushroom Soup
The Balthazar Cookbook
1 oz dry mushrooms (porcini, morels, or shitakes)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 sprigs of rosemary
4 sprigs of sage
1 large yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground white pepper
1 pound white button mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 pound shitake mushrooms stemmed, cleaned and thinly sliced
6 cups chicken stock or water
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Deb adjustments: I used far less olive oil, replaced some of the chicken stock with beef, as I had it on hand and love mixing that flavor with mushrooms; half as much cream, preferring a more potent soup and thyme instead of rosemary, also due to personal preference.
1. Soak the dry mushrooms in 1 cup of warm water for 20 to 30 minutes, until plump.
2. Strain the soaking liquid through a coffee filter to remove grit and reserve, along with the reconstituted mushrooms, until needed.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over a medium flame. Bundle the rosemary and sage together and tie with kitchen twine. When the oil is hot, add the herb bundle and sizzle for a few minutes on both sides to infuse the oil.
4. Add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent but not brown.
5. Turn the flame to high and add the white mushrooms and shitakes.
6. Cook for 10 minutes, during which the mushrooms will give off their liquid (which should evaporate quickly due to the high heat) and deflate significantly. Stir occasionally.
7. Add the chicken stock and the dried mushrooms along with the soaking water.
8. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the herbs, then add the cream and butter. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender until smooth. Return to the pot and keep at a very low simmer until ready to serve.
Okay…you cookie tease! The soup looks awesome btw…ANOTHER thing added to my list to cook in Houston. I’m not going to have enough days in the year with all the cooking blogs I’ve been reading (yes, Deb, I’ve strayed). Do you think you could substitute the cream for half/half or milk?
Now, I’m going to sit in the corner and pout until I get the cookie recipe!
HURRAY for mushroom soup! I am SO making it, my best ever Christmas gift was an immersion blender and I am addicted to it; your soup gives me another excuse to whir away. Actually, I adore finding those tried and true recipes, just like you. Thank you for sharing them; especially this most recent one.
Happy New Year!
So soup is my favorite food ever, and I’ve been dying for good mushroom soup since I quit working at the restaurant that made what was simply the best.mushroom.soup.ever. I will have to try this soon.
Jenifer: one of my favorite substitutions ever is milk for half and half or cream… not because it works (much of the time it doesn’t, and I end up with a curdled mess), but because I am so enthusiastic about using it. My suggestion would be this: make a roux out of equal parts butter and flour (say 1tbsp butter to 1tbsp flour) and cook it under very gentle heat. Be careful not to brown it, just melt the butter and let it go for a few more minutes. Then slowly whisk in milk, being careful of lumps, and heat gently until the mixture thickens (a few minutes)… The ratio is 1 cup milk to each tbsp butter, or 1 cup to 0.5 tbsp to keep it from thickening too much. The roux helps keep the mixture from curdling. It’s the flour or the fat molecules interfereing with the protein and keeping it from denaturing? I can’t remember exactly which one does it or if it’s both. Alton Brown would know!
Deb: yum! I was about to go home and make some mushroom risotto that I’ve been craving for about a week. It didn’t even occur to me to make soup, but this looks absolutely delicious! Mmmmmm
Rachael - You absolutely rock. One of my hopes for this site was that if someone asked a question that I couldn’t answer, or could answer only partially, that I’d have the kind of smart readers who could fill in my blanks. Keep it coming!
Jenifer - I noted that I cut the cream to half a cup, but I bet you could cut it even further, too. Cream is so heavy, I often find that just a couple tablespoons can help bring a soup together. Another idea would be to leave it out entirely, or just serve the soup with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche on top.
God, that looks good!
The Balthazar Cookbook is one of my favorites! It’s good to know that this soup recipe is so great. I have not tried it yet, but I have not been let down by anything I’ve made from it so far. A favorite is the recipe for their lentils with bacon. LOVE. I once made a very nice mushroom soup from Ruth Reichl’s book “Comfort Me With Apples.” Very woodsey and creamy. I’ll have to try this one to compare. Thank you so much.
Also, where is that bread in the photo from? Did you make it? Is it the easy-peasy rustic loaf?
Wow, that looks amazing. I’m still eating mushroom gravy and um… *shamface* I’ve eaten a few spoonfuls alone, to my boyfriend’s horror. I am not so nice… I’d do the same and just eat it over the stove, he’d never know! He never goes in the kitchen! Muhahahahah! Lovely picture of you, btw. :)
Super cute haircut!
Were you cooking soup naked?!
I say someone should take on the food blogosphere project of compiling the best recipe for the basics that we all make over and over. The other day I made disappointing brownies and thought “How can it be that I do not have one brownie recipe that just doesn’t fail me?”
Years ago, there was an excellent restaurant in Reading, PA, owned by the Czarnecki family. They were reknown for their mushroom dishes and published a cookbook all about mushrooms. In Joe Czarnecki’s recipe for mushroom soup, he solved the thickness problem by reserving the mushroom stems He cooked then pureed them and added them back to the soup, which became thick and hearty. I have this cookbook, and I’ve made this soup before. It was excellent.
Sounds delicious. I especially like the addition of the beef stock, for all the same reasons you do. For a little added textural interest, have you ever considered reserving some of the mushrooms before pureeing the soup, then returning them to the finished soup–maybe just spooning a few on top of each bowl? Or perhaps just one uncooked slice of white button mushroom floating in the middle of each bowl. Could be very nice visually–which we know is a big part of cooking and eating.
Today I made a bowl of cereal. Just add milk!
Grant - That was indeed the No-Knead Bread. I made a loaf last week and we keep it sliced in the freezer for when we want it. However, we were hungry and lazy, so it was only half-toasted by the time it became our crouton.
Tree - Thank you.
Lee - No I was not naked! I was wearing a sketchy, ten-year old, spaghetti-strapped tank top and short yoga pants, as it is 65 freaking degrees in January, and about ten more in our top-floor apartment. I know Denver is miserable these day, but I have complete blizzard-envy.
Alto2 - That sounds delicious! I am always torn about what to do with discarded mushroom stems. Lately, I’ve been trying to create a “stock bag” in the freezer, with vegetable odds and ends for when I make a batch, and the shitake stems are in there now. What kind of mushrooms does Czarnecki recommend?
Terry B - I haven’t but I like the idea a lot. We went to the new Klee Brasserie in our neighborhood a few weeks ago (and again for New Years) and they make an awesome porcini bisque which, the first time we went, they topped with slightly cooked mousseron mushrooms. It was really great, as they’re small, cute and have a great porcini/cepe-like flavor.
I’d like to come live at your house. I’ll even wait patiently outside, in the hallway, just for the food. It looks amazing.
So- I discovered you last week with one of those random Yahoo things that pop up on your home page (”Do you want to add Nascar Digest”? not) and have been hooked ever since. I’ve copied every recipe you’ve discussed. I’m eyeballing my cast iron dutch oven as a home for the No Knead Bread I’m planning to do this weekend. Now you’ve thrown in chocolate cookies and an obviously divine mushroom soup….. you’re wrecking my diet and I don’t care! :-)
I just started reading your blog last week (Tammi introduced me *waves*) and I think it’s safe to say that you have the best taste ever in food. And I say that because it seems to be almost exactly the same as mine. ;-) Last week I made the french onion soup and tonight I made the mushroom soup - and oh my god - I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. My family was literally licking their bowls clean and I had to make sure I hid some leftovers for myself before they gulped it all down. Now I know that when I’m looking for something out-of-this-world to eat, I never have to look farther than your blog! :D
People always rave about chicken noodle soup being the comfort of all time but for me it’s mushroom soup. This looks so wonderful, rich but sometimes we need rich! I’m still making the no knead from time to time, I think sometimes I do it just to hear it sing but then the entire loaf is gone by the second meal, well OK there maybe some snacking slices in there also with this soup. Lovely.
Thank you for such a glorious mushroom soup recipe (or the notification thereof)! I ran home and made this soup on the night of it’s posting to your blog! Deeeelicious!
I’ll be bringing the soup to Thanksgiving Dinner for twelve at a friend’s home. Do you think doubling the recipe will make enough?
I plan to make it the day before and gently heat it just before it’s needed. I’ll bring it just to the simmer and leave it there for a few minutes. Does this sound right?
I just made this soup in preparation for Thanksgiving Dinner and it is tasty!!!
I love the flavor of the sage and rosemary! It should be noted that I used soy milk instead of cream because this is going to be a kosher Thanksgiving… I think it came out great, though. So, if you are kosher or if you just want to be a little bit healthier, try soy milk.