Mushroom Soup

by Posted on

I should probably call this recipe “THE Mushroom Soup” because this is the only mushroom soup I have ever made and my all-time favourite, in spite of its evident simplicity. Last week, when I saw Hiroyuki’s mushroom picking adventures and his Japanese mushroom stew, ย I almost instantly ran to buy some mushrooms and made a big pan of my beloved soup. I haven’t picked mushrooms for ages and awfully miss this activity, but this soup is one of the rare dishes where I don’t regret wild mushrooms. It is one of the rare cases when humble, farmed button mushrooms are just perfect.

This soup has all the advantages a meal can have. It’s healthy and light, but nourishing. It is easy, cheap and quick. It also calls for very few, basic and easily available ingredients. Leek can be substituted with onions, but parsley is not here merely for decoration. Without parsley the taste is a bit boring and flat. A tiny amount of cumin enhances this basic mushroom’s flavours, but it’s not necessary.

Preparation: 30 minutes

Ingredients (serves two):

1 liter chicken stock (or water + granulated stock) or vegetable stock if you want a vegetarian version

200 g button mushrooms

1 big carrot

1 medium leek (only the white part) or 1 medium onion

pepper, salt, cumin

2 -4 tablespoons cream

parsley

(butter)

Clean and slice the mushrooms and the carrots (these should be sliced very finely).

Slice the leek’s white part or the onion.

Put everything in a pan filled with the chicken stock.

Bring the soup to boil and let on medium heat for about twenty minutes (or until the mushrooms start losing water).

Add the cream or the milkย and, if you want, 2 tablespoons butter.

Season with salt and pepper

Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Published by Sissi

49 Replies to “Mushroom Soup”

  1. Looks like this has really nice and clean flavours. I have hardly tried mushroom soup and not tried one with stock. Cream of mushroom soup is delicious but ‘heavy’. I will remember this.

    1. Thank you, Mr. Three-Cookies. The flavours are really simple, but perfect for me. I usually add the lightest cream I have, and the couple of tablespoons are only to have a hint of cream taste (and even milk is ok when I don’t have cream).

  2. To me, simplicity is next to perfection. There is nothing that gets me more motivated than a hassle free, delicious, healthful meal. Very interesting what you note about the parsley – I completely agree and have a few recipes where it is absolutely the key ingredient not just a pretty garnish. Off to the grocery store to get these ingredients today (you know I’ve made more of your recipes than any other food blogger – keep them coming Sissi!) ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Kelly, saying just “thank you” is not enough. I am honoured to be chosen so often by such an excellent and creative cook like you! You always make me happy and so proud when you try my recipes! (I will have problems to get rid of my big smile today). Let me know if you enjoy this soup.

      1. Do you know what was really interesting in this soup – in addition to the tastiness of the parsley, was the black pepper – I added more than I usually do I think, but it worked so well – it almost gave it a Thai flavour. Spicy without being overbearing. We just loved this soup!

        1. Kelly, I’m so glad you liked the soup! I haven’t written it, but I often tend to put lots of pepper with the basic button mushrooms. In some other dishes too. In Western cuisines we are used to salt and pepper as the obligatory, boring ingredients, where pepper adds a bit of life to the dish. However, when one puts really a lot of freshly ground pepper, it acts as a real spice. (I put a lot of it with herring salads, potato salads and also in potato & curd cheese dumplings). Thank you again for another kind message!

  3. Thank you for showing us your version of mushroom soup. It’s really healthy and light, as you say, and it looks heart-warming, too! And, thank you again for mentioning parsely! I have some in a planter box, but I’ve never thought of using it as a garnish for soup!

    1. Thank you, Hiroyuki and thank you for the mushroom soup inspiration. Parsley is here a bit like mitsuba in oyakodon. It seems only a decoration, but in fact it changes completely the taste. Parsley is from my experience good with most mushroom dishes.

  4. Sissi, this soup looks yummy and warm! I am a big fan of mushroom, all types of them, though I’ve not ever cooked a mushroom soup, normally they are more of a garnish in my Mom’s versions. Thank you for sharing!

    1. Thank you, Jeno. Mushroom soup is really delicious, but it’s also full or healthy and very light proteins (as far as I know).

  5. Sissi, we are starting to have a colder weather and this soup is perfect. It looks very hearty and with butter… Yumm! Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful day, Sissi! ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Thank you, Ray! A slight amount of butter mellows the taste, without making it heavy or unhealthy.

    1. Thank you, Greg. The cumin is an invisible touch. You don’t feel it but it improves the taste. I don’t remember how I had this idea, but now I always add more or less cumin to “basic” mushroom dishes.

  7. I love the presentation of the soup, Sissi. Today the temp suddenly dropped and it’s been a cold morning. THE mushroom soup sounds perfect for a cold day like today. Adding cumin is a totally new surprise to me. I can see how the flavor will be nicely enhanced (but I wouldn’t come up with the idea though). I just want to have a bowl of this for lunch.

    1. Thank you so much, Nami. It’s the easiest soup I know. The cumin addition is really funny: as I told Greg you don’t feel cumin, but this basic mushroom tastes better (of course I wouldn’t add cumin to matsutake ๐Ÿ˜‰ , on the other hand I would never make a matsutake soup. I would enjoy it in a more sophisticated dish of course)

  8. I *love* mushroom soup – I usually blend mine up, preferring a slightly thicker, smoother dish, although I can be down with chunky soups too. I made a soup with half button, half cantarelle mushrooms last year. Pretty good, but I’ll say it was a bit of a waste of the cantarelle mushrooms :p Never tried adding cumin – I’ll give it a shot next time. Do try it with a twist of lemon juice… I love adding lemon juice to mushroom soups, it can give the flavour a real zing sometimes!

    1. Thanks, Charles. This is why I always make this soup with champignons de Paris (I mean I never use chanterelles or other mushrooms). I also think chanterelles lose taste in soups. I prefer them in a goat cheese tart ๐Ÿ˜‰ or simply fried with onions.
      Thanks for the lemon juice tip. I will remember it next time.

  10. You’ve brought the humble mushroom soup to another level with some of those spices and flavours. I have never used carrots though and this looks like a winter warmer. I have been toying with the idea of a clear broth mushroom soup with all the different types of mushrooms as a summer soup because it is light and looks really beautiful too ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Thank you so much for the compliment! I am wondering now if I put carrots because of the taste or because of the colour they bring ๐Ÿ˜‰ Their slight sweetness is welcome anyway.

      1. Actually, I love the look of your beautiful bowl.

        Personally, I feel a great mushroom soup would not need any bright colours. It’s natural colours may not be as vibrant but its wonderful earthy flavours would speak for itself! ๐Ÿ™‚

        1. Thank you so much for the kind words. I’m really flattered ๐Ÿ™‚ I thought the bowl would look boring (this being said, I always add some carrot to my mushroom soup, not for the photos).

          1. You shouldn’t be flattered Sissy. I think you are very much a beautiful cook than you would care to admit.

            Most bloggers need more than just one photo to convey their message. The fact that you only need one for every post tells me a lot about you ๐Ÿ™‚

            1. I don’t know what to say. You are one of the bloggers, whom I sincerely admire for both culinary and photographic skills and from whom I would never expect such compliments. Your words mean a lot to me.

  11. Hi Sissi. This is so perfect for a muggy day. I think we’re getting whatever Thailand’s getting but not so badly affected by it. I feel so sorry for them.
    Yes, this is better than the “cream of” versions … those would be a little too rich for the humidity after the storms. Simple is sometimes the best!

    1. Thank you, Ping. I hope that nature doesn’t get crazy where you live. I often think how lucky I am to live in a place where nature is so calm…
      Frankly I like certain cream soups, but when it comes to mushrooms I prefer them in chunks in a lighter soup.

  13. This soup does look healthy and light! I love mushroom soup, so I will have to make this one soon. Thanks for introducing me to your wonderful blog. I really like nice and clean look of your blog. It’s beautiful!

    1. Thank you so much, Hyosun, for all the compliments. I am very happy you have come to visit my blog and even happier that you like it!

    1. Thank you, CG. I am also a carnivore (I think I have already said somewhere that most dishes for me have to contain a fish/shellfish/meat, otherwise I feel hungry ๐Ÿ˜‰ but this soup is a very good starter, snack (!) or a light meal. (I sometimes add tiny pieces of chicken breast if I want it to be a real, big meal).

  15. Made your mushroom soup last night. It was so easy to assemble and delicious. It was very sweet because I had the soup simmering on the stove when the boys came home from school and they both remarked on how great it smelled! My husband just loved the flavours… Thanks Sissi.

    1. I am so excited you liked it! You are so kind to let me know when you cook the dishes from my blog. You know, every time I post a dish I am very nervous thinking that someone might try it and hate it. Thank you once more for testing my recipes and for your feedback! I know I repeat myself, but you really make me incredibly happy!

    1. Mushroom picking is incredible, but either you are experienced or you have to got with someone who knows mushrooms very well.

  17. I can understand why this is your favorite mushroom soup, Sissi, it looks incredible. I can’t believe I only started liking mushrooms just a couple of years ago. I was missing out on so much! This soup would be perfect for the chilly nights ahead.

  22. Hi Sissi, just came over from Nami’s site after reading your guest post. Lovey truffles and guest post. Nami is a sweet lady. A pleasure to meet you and this mushroom soup is a must for me. I have never picked mushrooms before, but that does sound cool. Hope to meet up with you again soon! Have a happy weekend and I enjoyed browsing your recipes. I have subscribed to your posts.

    1. Thank you so much, Suzi. It’s a big pleasure to meet you too! Thank you for visiting my blog. I’m very happy you like my mushroom soup too.
      And, yes, of course, Nami is an angel ๐Ÿ™‚

Comments are closed.