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Jewelweed’s Wild Mushroom Soup

Course Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 lb white button mushrooms [1] or a combination of white button and brown
  • 4 Tbs butter or vegan alternative, divided
  • 3 cloves garlic peeled and left whole [2]
  • 4 cups chicken stock or substitute vegetable stock
  • 4 cups mushroom water
  • 1 beef bullion cube [3] or mushroom
  • 4-8 ounces dried wild mushrooms or ¾ pound fresh wild mushrooms
  • ½ cup sherry
  • 6 sprigs thyme
  • 1 Tbs minced tarragon
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

  • One to four hours before making the soup, place the dried mushrooms into a large bowl and cover with 6 cups of boiling water.  Invert a saucer over the top to force mushrooms to stay under water.
  • Wash the button mushrooms and slice roughly.  If using fresh wild mushrooms, remove stems and add to the button mushrooms.  Place half the button mushrooms into a food processor blend until fine.
  • Drain the dried wild mushroom, squeezing out as much water as possible without crushing them.  Spread on paper towels to dry slightly.
  • In a heavy soup pot, add half the butter and the whole garlic cloves.  Stirring constantly, allow the butter to melt and brown slightly.  Add the sliced button mushrooms and sauté until they have let off their water and begun to brown.  Add the minced mushrooms and continue to cook until they have let out their water and the pan is almost dry again.  Add the chicken stock, mushroom water, and bullion along with three sprigs of thyme and 1/3 cup of the sherry.
  • Bring mixture to a boil letting it simmer on low for half an hour to forty-five minutes.
  • Line a colander with cheese cloth.  Pour the soup into the colander to strain out the solids.  Press mushrooms to extract as much liquid as possible and discard.  Place the liquid back into your soup pot and set to simmer on low.
  • If you are feeling lazy, add the rest of the ingredients to the pot.  Adjust seasoning to taste, bring to a boil and allow to simmer for a further 15 minutes.  Then server with a scattering of fresh herbs.

However, for extra flavor:

  • Melt the rest of the butter in a large sauté pan, add the rest of the sherry allowing the alcohol to cook off a moment.  Add the mushrooms with a sprinkle of salt and sauté until golden.
  • Right before removing the mushrooms from the flame, add the chopped tarragon and thyme leaves (pulled off the stems).  Place the sautéed mushrooms into the soup base and bring the soup to a boil.  Add the cayenne, black pepper, and adjust salt if necessary.  Simmer for 15 minutes.

Notes

Serve with crusty bread and nice salad. Delicious!
[1]  A mixture of white and Portabella will give a deeper flavor
[2]  By leaving the garlic whole and browning it slight with the butter you get a gentle garlic nuance without overwhelming the more delicate mushroom flavors.
[3]  I used a teaspoon of “Better than Bullion” which smelled like beef jerky.  And really its not necessary, just adds a depth of flavor to the soup.