Uncle Bills French Mushroom Soup Recipes

UNCLE BILL'S FRENCH MUSHROOM SOUP

Steps:

• Rinse both mushrooms in cold water and immediately pat dry with paper towels.
• Cut mushrooms into quarters and then slice thinly, 1/8 inch thick.
• In a large heavy bottom soup pot, melt butter on medium heat.
• Add mushrooms and saute for 5 to 6 minutes or until liquid from the mushrooms has mostly evaporated.
• Sprinkle flour over mushrooms and cook for 1 minute, stirring often.
• Gradually stir in chicken broth, water and chicken soup base and bring to boil, about 5 minutes, stirring often so the bottom does not burn.
• Add thyme, bay leaf and green onions.
• Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Remove bay leaf and discard.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks and whipping cream.
• Slowly add 1 cup of hot broth mixture from the soup pot to the egg/cream mixture, whisking constantly until incorporated. This prevents the egg yolks from cooking.
• Return mixture to the soup pot, adding slowly and whisking all the time while adding.
• Heat over low heat until hot, about 5 minutes.
• Add white pepper to taste.
• Serve soup sprinkled with minced parsley.

CREAMY MUSHROOM SOUP

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a pot over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted, add a third of the mushrooms to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until dark golden brown, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then remove them from the pot and reserve for serving.
• In the same pot, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Reduce the heat to medium and, when the butter has melted, add the rest of the mushrooms, along with the garlic, celery, thyme and onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Sprinkle the vegetables with the flour and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, then cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes, allowing the flour to cook.
• Slowly pour in the sherry, stirring all the time, then slowly add the stock. Keep stirring to reduce the likelihood of lumps. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced and thickened, about 20 minutes.
• Using an immersion blender, puree until the mushrooms are mostly broken up into small barley-sized bits. (NOTE: You may use a blender, though allow the soup to cool until warm before pureeing.) Add the cream and heat until the pot is simmering. Add the balsamic, then taste and adjust the seasonings.
• Serve warm in bowls with the reserved mushrooms on top. Garnish with parsley and crusty chunks of warm bread.

CREAMY CHANTERELLE MUSHROOM SOUP

Steps:

• Rinse mushrooms and pat dry. Slice in half. Rinse off any bugs or dirt and chop.
• Melt butter in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir mushroom pieces into the shallots and toss in a generous pinch of salt to help draw out their juices. Add pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Continue to cook until mushroom pieces shrink in size and brown slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Pour chicken stock into the pot. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, 10 to 20 minutes.
• Ladle soup into a high-powered blender. Cover and hold lid down with a potholder; blend on high until pureed, 1 to 2 minutes. Add half-and-half and blend for 1 minute more. Return blended soup to the pot. Heat until warmed through, 5 to 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.

FRENCH MUSHROOM SOUP

Steps:

• Cook onions in 4 tablespoons butter in a large stockpot over medium heat until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in flour and cook over low heat for 4 minutes without browning. Add the stock, blending it completely with the flour. Add the parsley, bay leaf, and thyme, and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain into a second pot.
• In a large skillet, heat remaining 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the cremini mushrooms and season with salt. Cook until softened, and then add the shiitake and oyster mushrooms. Season with salt and lemon juice and cook until mushrooms are deep golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Reheat stock mixture to a simmer. Whisk the egg yolks and cream until blended. While whisking, slowly add a cupful of the hot soup into the cream mixture and add back to the soup and heat to just below a simmer (if the soup simmers, the yolks will curdle). Add the cooked mushroom mixture and stir to combine. Serve garnished with parsley.

MUSHROOM SOUP

Steps:

• Soak the dried mushrooms in 5 cups very hot water until soft, anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. When they are tender, remove mushrooms from the soaking liquid with a slotted spoon, reserving the liquid; slice or chop if the pieces are large.
• Meanwhile, put the butter in a large pot that can later be covered over medium heat. When it melts, add the herb, onions and garlic and sauté, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat to medium high, and add the fresh mushrooms; add the soaked mushrooms when they're ready. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook until the mushrooms have given off their liquid and begun to brown, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the sherry or Madeira to the pot and cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom as the liquor starts to bubble. Add the stock or soaking liquid and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a steady simmer and cook, covered, until flavors have melded, about 15 minutes.
• Discard the herb. Reduce the heat to low, and purée the liquid with a hand-held mixer to desired consistency. (I like it half-puréed.) Add the cream if you're using it; stir to combine and let simmer for a few minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning; garnish with parsley and serve.

CHEF JOHN'S CREAMY MUSHROOM SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat; cook mushrooms in butter with 1 pinch salt until the mushrooms give off their juices; reduce heat to low. Continue to cook, stirring often, until juices evaporate and the mushrooms are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Set aside a few attractive mushroom slices for garnish later, if desired. Mix onion into mushrooms and cook until onion is soft and translucent, about 5 more minutes.
• Stir flour into mushroom mixture and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes to remove raw flour taste. Tie thyme sprigs into a small bundle with kitchen twine and add to mushroom mixture; add garlic cloves. Pour chicken stock and water into mushroom mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. Remove thyme bundle.
• Transfer soup to a blender in small batches and puree on high speed until smooth and thick.
• Return soup to pot and stir in cream. Season with salt and black pepper and serve in bowls, garnished with reserved mushroom slices and a few thyme leaves.