Cream of Mushroom Soup

This is the first recipe I've made from Easy Appetizers, a gift from my food blogging friend Elizabeth. Mushrooms are one of my favorite flavors to cook with and my hubby is slightly obsessed with soups, so Cream of Mushroom soup always sounds good to both of us. I didn't follow the recipe exactly because it called for dried porcini mushrooms and dried mushrooms sorta skeeves me out, so I just went with a blend of fresh mushrooms I found at my local grocery store. 


We absolutely loved this soup. It's incredibly creamy and earthy. I left big chunks of mushrooms so every spoonful had a lot of bites of mushrooms. The chopped parsley brought in a nice fresh flavor. I definitely recommend topping the soup with sour cream or creme fraiche, it adds an extra layer of richness. 

Cream of Mushroom Soup
Adapted from Easy Appetizers
Printable Version


Ingredients
1 ounce cremini mushrooms
4 large portobello mushrooms
2 ounces white button mushrooms
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
a pinch of nutmeg
1 cup fresh parsley
5 cups of boiling chicken or vegetable broth
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Sea Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Sour cream or creme fraiche for garnishing


Directions
Finely chop the parsley in a food processor. Scrape out of the processor bowl and set aside.

Bring broth to a boil in a pot. Heat the oil in a skillet and add in the fresh mushrooms. Saute until browned. Add the onion to the skillet and saute until softened, then add the garlic. 

Bring to a boil and transfer to a food processor. Add two ladles of the broth and pulse until creamy but still chunky. 
Heat the butter in a large pot, such as a dutch oven, until melted. Stir in the flour and cook gently, stirring constantly until the mixture is a dark brown. Be careful so it does not burn. Add in the remaining broth one ladle at a time, stirring well after each addition.  Add the mushroom mixture, bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes. 

Season to taste with sea salt and freshly grated black pepper. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream.