I grew up on my 2 favourite vegetable soups; Potato and Leek and Cream of Mushroom...right out of a Campbell's can! I don't really recall my Mum making any Anglo/European soups when I was growing up... a close one would perhaps be a Oxtail Tomatoey type soup. That is delicious, and I'm going to work my way to achieving that one soon. But in the meantime, I thought I might try my hand at making Mushroom soup from scratch, and boy did this Jamie Oliver recipe deliver! I don't think I need to try any other Mushroom Soup recipes, because this one was the shizzle!
Here is the lowdown of how I made it, and then also topped it with my own little bacony crunchy sprinkle :)
THE CREME DE LA CREME OF MUSHROOM SOUPS RECIPE
Adapted from Jamie Oliver
Makes approx. 1 Litre of Soup | Equipment required - Stick Blender, Large Saucepan/Pot and a Frying pan
INGREDIENTS
Mushroom Soup
- 600gm mix of mushrooms, chopped (the ratio I used was Portobello 450gm, 150gm Oyster & 150gm Swiss brown mushrooms)
- 1 small handful of Dried Porcini Mushrooms
- 1 small Red Onion, peeled, and finely chopped
- 2 cloves of Garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
- 6 sprigs of fresh Thyme leaves
- 1 litre of hot Chicken (or Vegetable) Stock liquid
- Olive oil
- 2 heaped tablespoons of Creme Fraiche (or Marscapone if you prefer)
- Salt & pepper for seasoning
Crunchy Bacon Sprinkle
- Fresh Breadcrumbs
- A couple of Strippy Slices of Bacon, finely sliced (omit this or replace with small carrot pieces, if you want to keep it strictly vego)
- A small bunch of Curly Parsley, chopped
- Salt & Pepper for seasoning
STEPS
Mushroom Soup
1. Place the dry Porcini mushrooms in a bowl and fill 1/4 of the bowl with boiled water. Leave aside to soak.
2. Using a large saucepan / large pot, place on high heat, add a splash of olive oil and and saute the chopped mushrooms and saute for a few minutes.
3. Add the Garlic, Onion, Thyme leaves and a small amount of seasoning to the mushrooms, and saute together.
4. Reserving the Porcini liquid, take half of the Porcini mushrooms and chop them up while leaving the remainder whole. Once your mushrooms in the pot are beginning to sweat, add your porcini mushrooms.
5. Strain the reserved Porcini liquid to get rid of any potential grit that was left in the bowl and add this to the pot. Mix the mushroom mixture through and let fry away until all the liquid is gone from the pot (around 20 minutes).
6. After most of the liquid is gone, season to taste and then add your hot stock. Turn down the heat and let simmer for another 20 minutes.
7. Ladle out half of the soup mixture into a large bowl or jug, and using your stick blender, blend this mixture until pureed.
8. Add the puree back into the pot of the remainder mushroom soup, mix in your creme fraiche and season to taste again
9. Serve your mushroom soup in medium sized bowls, with a dollop of creme fraiche and a good sprinkling of crunchy bacon crumbs.
Crunchy Bacon Sprinkle
1. In a separate frying pan, place on high heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil
2. Add the bacon and fry until the bacon turns crispy.
3. Add the fresh breadcrumbs and chopped parsley and stir fry until the breadcrumb starts to turn golden in colour and the whole mixture is dry
4. Place in a bowl and let this cool. Serve over Soup or over a Pasta meal for some added texture!
5. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Now that our nights aren't going to be filled with golden light after work, with daylight savings having taken effect, running home to a warm bowlful of soup and crusty bread sounds like a great idea to me!
If you have some soup leftover you can turn it into a great pasta sauce! Heat up the leftover soup in a small saucepan, mix in a bit of Creme Fraiche and Parsley. Throw in some sliced mushrooms and a sprinkle of dried thyme if you have some on hand, when the sauce has reduced to creamy again and the mushrooms are cooked (perhaps after 5-10 minutes), spoon it over some some good cooked pasta (fresh or pre-made), then toss the sauce through and chow down!
There's 15 days until we are off to Airlie Beach for a bit of a group trip away and I can't wait. I'm committed to exercising everyday until then, even if its just for 25 minutes, lets see if I can actually see that through?
It's also Australia Fashion Week this week and I'm off to see a good friend's show on Thursday. I love feeling the buzz around fashion week, the street style fashion, and the wonderful shows. I. Can. Not. Wait!
If I'm not active in posting this week it'll be because I'm in fashion la la land, as well entertaining Jase's Mum & Dad who are currently in town :)
Catch me on Instagram or Twitter if you want to interact, chat or follow along with what I get up to!
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