Creamy Mushroom Soup

I use mushrooms all the time but don’t ever recall making a mushroom soup. I was very pleased with how this came out and it was easy to make. I only had 2% milk so instead of using cream I made a thin béchamel sauce and added it to the mushrooms then blended the two partially together with an emulsion blender.

1. Mushroom Base

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 small onion and 1 small shallot finely diced
• 1 garlic glove finely diced
• 1 tbsp. fresh thyme chopped (remove woody stems)
• 8 oz. of white mushrooms thinly sliced
• 4 oz. cremini mushrooms thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• Dash of soy sauce
• 3 cups chicken broth
• Salt and pepper

Add olive oil to pan and heat over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic and thyme then all the mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat until mushroom are browned (about 10 minutes). Add vinegar, soy sauce and chicken broth and bring to boil then reduce to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Béchamel Sauce

• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 1 1/4 cup 2% milk (room temperature is best)
• pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
• Salt (optional)

While the mushrooms are cooking you can make the sauce. My rule of thumb is 2, 2 and 2 for a basic sauce. 2 tbsp. butter, 2 tbsp. flour and 2 cups of milk. I just cut in half and added a little more milk to make a thinner sauce. Over medium-low heat melt the butter in a saucepan. Add flour and while whisking cook until just slightly deeper in color (about 1 to 2 minutes). Whisk in about 1/4 cup of milk, then gradually add the rest while continuing to whisk. Bring sauce to boil and reduce to simmer for a couple minutes. Add nutmeg. Season with salt. Remove from heat.

3. Combine, Blend and Serve

Remove a few of the mushroom for garnish and set aside. Add the béchamel sauce to the mushroom base and blend with an emulsion blend until slightly chunky consistency. Add fresh parsley and heat through. Serve, garnish with reserved mushrooms.