Mixed Wild Mushroom Soup

Recipe by: James Peterson | from Splendid Soups: Recipes and Master Techniques for Making the World's Best Soups

Cookstr

Course: Appetizer

Total Time: Under 1 Hour

Skill Level: Moderate

Cost: Splurge

Photo by: Joseph De Leo

This is a wonderfully dramatic way to show off wild mushrooms. It’s almost a mushroom stew except that the mushrooms are sitting over a shallow layer of flavorful broth instead of being bound together with a thick sauce.

In this recipe the mushrooms are sautéd with shallots, garlic, and parsley in olive oil. There are no hard and fast rules, so feel free to play around with different herbs or different cooking fats, such as butter or, best of all, goose or duck fat.

Yield: Makes 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds assorted fresh wild mushrooms or specially cultivated mushrooms: morels, porcini (cèpes), hedgehogs, bear’s heads, portobellos, chanterelles, oyster mushrooms, pleurottes, shiitake
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped and crushed into a paste
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley leaves
1 quart consommé, full-flavored broth, dashi, or mushroom velouté
Salt
Pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

CHECK the mushrooms carefully for sand and grit. If they need washing, rinse them quickly under running water and drain them immediately. Don’t let them sit in water, or they’ll get soggy.

IF the mushrooms are small, leave them whole. Larger mushrooms may need to be sliced or cut into smaller pieces, but do your best to show off the natural shapes of the mushrooms, which make this soup so visually striking.

STIR together the shallots, garlic, and parsley in a small mixing bowl. (The French call this mixture a persillade.)

BRING the broth to a slow simmer and season it with salt and pepper.

MAKE sure the mushrooms are perfectly dry and sauté them in the olive oil over high heat. Don’t put more than one layer of mushrooms in the pan at once, or they will release water and stew in their own juices.

WHEN the mushrooms begin to brown and shrink slightly, after about 7 minutes, sprinkle the persillade over them and sauté for 1 minute more. Season with salt and pepper.

LADLE the broth into wide soup bowls and arrange the mushrooms over the broth.

Notes

This soup is best served in the spring or fall, when you have the best selection of mushrooms.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Nutrients per serving (% daily value)

Nutritional information is based on 1/8 teaspoon added salt per serving.

Nutritional information does not include consomme or mushroom velouté recipe. For nutritional information on consomme or mushroom velouté recipe, please follow the link above.

Calories 176kcal (9%)

Sodium 306mg (13%)

Total Carbohydrate 12g

Fiber 6g

Fat 14g (22%)

Trans Fat 0g

Saturated Fat 2g (9%)

Monounsaturated Fat 10g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Cholesterol 0mg (0%)

Sugar 0g

Protein 3g