Comfort food – whether it’s the grilled cheese and tomato soup your Mama fixed you when you were under the weather or your Granny’s chicken and dumplings, it makes us feel better or takes us back to a time in our childhood. We all have that one, usually-not-so-healthy meal that just makes us feel “Ahhhh”.
My wife calls this recipe comfort food. When she is stressed or doesn’t feel well, she wants my Mushroom Soup. The last week was a little hard on her so I surprised her on Friday with her feel-better meal. Scored some major points there!
I just use plain old white mushrooms. You could get fancy and use wild mushrooms but I honestly don’t think you could improve much on the basic recipe. Mushrooms are usually sold in 8 oz. packs so use 3 packs.
For this recipe, a cast iron Dutch oven works best because even heat distribution is very critical. If you don’t have one, use a heavy soup pot – this is not a recipe for your pretty aluminum cookware. Monitor heat closely at all times and do not allow the soup to reach a hard boil. When you boil cream-based dishes, the milk proteins will separate from the water – that’s called curdling. It will ruin the smoothness that makes this soup so good.
You will get a workout with this recipe! Any time cream and flour are used together in a recipe you must whisk continuously to avoid scorching and to blend smoothly so don’t put this soup on and go watch the end of American Idol. Stay close by and pay attention.
[recipe title=”Creamy Mushroom Soup” servings=”6-7″ time=”1 hour” difficulty=”easy”]
Ingredients
- 1 1⁄2 pounds fresh white mushrooms
chopped - 1 medium sweet onion finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 6 Tablespoons butter
- 4 cups chicken stock or broth
- 1⁄4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 1⁄4 cup Half & Half
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1⁄2 to 1 teaspoon black pepper
Directions
In a Dutch oven combine chicken broth, mushrooms, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Bring to a low simmer and cover, stirring occasionally. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and add onions. Cook until onions are very tender. Slowly add flour while whisking continuously. When flour is completely combined, add half & half and continue to whisk. When fully incorporated, pour into simmering mushroom mixture. Reduce heat slightly and allow to cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat, cover and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Cooking notes
- A cast iron Dutch oven works best for this recipe because even heat distribution is very critical.
- Monitor heat closely at all times. Do not allow to reach a hard boil.
