Mushroom soup

October 22, 2022

It's autumn, and so here is another soup recipe!

This time for mushroom soup, made with a combination of dried mushrooms, button mushrooms and wild mushrooms.

A few years ago we had friends who lived in France (now returned to the UK) who regularly foraged for mushrooms in the countryside around their home. When we visited, it was a favourite activity to do together.

Collecting mushrooms has always been a popular pastime in France with know-how passed down the generations and in addition, most local French pharmacies will identify, free of charge, any mushrooms you have picked.

Although, foraging is gaining more popularity in this country, there is generally not the same level of expertise regarding mushrooms and being of a nervous disposition, collecting mushrooms for the kitchen is something I prefer to leave to the experts. Consequently, the wild mushrooms in the photo below were bought from Waitrose!

For a number of years when our two daughters lived at home, soup, and in particular, mushroom soup was a tradition on Bonfire Night, to be enjoyed steaming from a mug held cupped in gloved hands.

So, with November 5th approaching here is the recipe in case you want to do the same.

A few notes:

Try to use dried mushrooms if possible.They can be expensive, (although a few go a long way), but they do add a lovely depth of flavour to the soup.

To cut costs feel free to substitute the wild mushrooms for more button mushrooms. The soup will still be delicious.

Make sure there are no bits of grit in the dried mushrooms. To be sure, you can strain the soaking liquid through muslin before topping up with vegetable stock.

I found 800ml of mushroom /vegetable stock was sufficient, but add more if you feel the finished soup is a little thick.

Finally, I find a squeeze of lemon juice added to the finished dish really lifts the flavour.