I have been dairy-free for over 10 years. Before I broke up with milk products, for the sake of animals as well as my skin and immune system, a favourite food while living at home and eventually on my own was cream of mushroom soup.
You know the kind – condensed and canned, that you need to add however much milk to it to make it “edible”. (And not remotely healthy.)
But I loved it.
I would always add extra mushrooms to it, often pairing it with a slice of toast with butter and garlic.
When my hubster announced in the grocery store, spying 1.5 lb containers of beautiful cremini mushrooms, that he wanted to try to make cream of mushroom soup that we could both enjoy? I was sooo excited. I hadn’t had a creamy mushroom soup that I could recall in over 10 years. I had a package of dried morels in the pantry that had been waiting for something worthy of its use.
So that day he set about making my shroomy dreams come true.
And. He. Delivered. (This man loves to make soup, peeps. *swoon*)
This is not your congealed canned stuff, no ma’am.
Nostalgic Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup
- 1/3 cup coconut oil or vegan margarine
- 3 lbs fresh brown mushrooms, such as cremini or bella, sliced and stems removed (or chopped finely and added in – we removed them)
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- 20g dried wild mushrooms, such as morel or chanterelle (optional, but a lovely addition in taste and texture)
- 3 cups water (to reconstitute the dried mushrooms)*
- ¾ cup white wine (we like organic and vegan sauv blanc, like Las Mulas)
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 2 Tbsp. gluten-free all-purpose flour (such as Bob’s Red Mill 1:1) or chickpea flour (note: chickpea flour may clump a little but will dissipate when at the blending stage)
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 3 cups mushroom or vegetable broth/bouillon*
- 1 can coconut milk (full fat)
- Sea salt & black pepper to taste
In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, melt the coconut oil/margarine. Add the mushrooms with ½ tsp. salt and cook, stirring occasionally. If using dried mushrooms, follow package directions if applicable and add to soup when prepared.
(No package directions: Add 20g dried mushrooms to 3 cups water in a large mixing bowl. Let stand about 15-30 minutes, making sure mushrooms are well immersed by stirring occasionally, until they are soft. Remove from water, setting the water aside to add to soup later. Chop mushrooms as desired – smaller pieces yield more flavour – and add to the stock pot.) The mushrooms will start to get juicy and aromatic. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking about 15 minutes.
Set aside about 2 cups of the cooked mushrooms. These will be added back in after blending.
Add onion to stock pot with remaining mushrooms and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes.
Add flour to mushroom & onion and cook about 2 minutes, stirring often, to combine. Add the rosemary sprig, garlic, mushroom reconstitution water*, broth*, and white wine. *If not using dried mushrooms, use 6 cups of broth instead to make up the difference. Simmer and continue to cook about 1 hour. Option to slowly enjoy a glass of that wine and some sexy banter while you wait.
Remove rosemary sprig. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup in the stock pot (carefully to avoid splashing yourself with the hot soup) until smooth.
Add the coconut milk and the reserved mushrooms to the blended soup. Stir to combine, allow the mushrooms to warm up about 2 minutes, and serve. Consume with much jubilation and maybe a side spinach salad.
Adapted from a combo of allrecipes.com “Chef John’s Creamy Mushroom Soup” and Untamed Feast dried morel package recipe booklet “Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup”.
Have you tried making mushroom soup before? How did it turn out for you?
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