Mushroom Soup

There’s just something magical about mushroom soup—nothing else quite captures that earthy, creamy richness that practically sings mushrooms. That’s the flavor I was chasing while testing, tweaking, and fine-tuning this recipe. You know that feeling when you create something so good, it feels like it belongs on a restaurant menu? Yeah, this is one of those moments.

Foraging Mushrooms

Foraging sounds romantic, but unless you’re a true expert, it’s a risky business. “Free” mushrooms can come at a steep cost if you pick the wrong one and it’s surprisingly easy to do. Back in the day, medieval royalty had food tasters for a reason. These days, that’s frowned upon (and also illegal), so we get to be our own testers.

There are only two wild mushrooms I trust myself to forage, oyster and morels. My grandfather taught me to identify them—he even had a secret morel patch he kept to himself until I was well into adulthood. He eventually shared the location with me, and I’ve treasured that knowledge ever since.

For one dinner, I added some locally foraged oyster mushrooms to give the soup a little extra authenticity. No one reported any stomach issues afterward, so I’m going to go ahead and say yes, they were oysters.

Unless it’s a special occasion—or I happen to stumble across a mythical morel meadow—I buy my mushrooms at the local market or a nearby mushroom farm. This soup works beautifully with any fresh mushrooms, but shiitake is my favorite. Our market usually carries a generous variety, with cremini, oyster, shiitake, and chanterelle among them.

This foraged mushroom soup was the fourth course of An Offal Good Dinner, nestled between tomato sorbet and braised beef cheeks. Honestly? It’s spectacular—if I do say so myself—and it has earned its place in my soup collection, More Soup for You!

Let’s Make Mushroom Soup

Remove any dirt or debris from all the mushrooms with a soft brush. You may quickly rinse them in a colander, but immediately pat them dry. Place them in a paper towel lined bowl to absorb any remaining moisture. De-stem the shitaake mushrooms, discard the stems and then slice the caps into 1/4″ strips. Slice the creminis and reserve them all.

In a large pot on medium high heat, cover and cook the mushrooms for 10 minutes in the butter with salt and pepper until the mushrooms give off their juices. Reduce heat to low, uncover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until juices evaporate and the mushrooms are golden brown, about 30 minutes. De-glaze the pot with the wine and scrape any bits off the bottom of the pan.

While cooking the mushrooms, caramelize the onions, leek and garlic in 2 TBL of olive oil over medium low heat to avoid burning them Add 1 TBL olive oil and flour to the onion, leek and garlic and cook while stirring for 3-4 minutes.

Combine the onion mix into the mushroom/wine pot and cook until they are well mixed – about 5 minutes. Add thyme and chicken broth 1 cup at a time while stirring and return to a low simmer for about an hour stirring occasionally.

Puree the soup in a food processor or immersion blender until smooth. Return it to the pot, whisk in the cream and return to a low simmer. Thin with chicken broth or water if necessary and adjust final seasoning with salt and pepper. Rest in the fridge overnight to allow time for the flavors to meld.

Warm then ladle into soup bowls and garnish with chives and freshly cracked black pepper Print