What's Cooking In Jane's Kitchen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is nothing like a warm and nourishing soup and as the colder days approach, this is a very good recipe to try.

For those that are mushroom experts, the season is from September to the end of October, but your regular cultivated “Button Mushrooms,” are available all year round. If you know your mushrooms, the ones gathered from the forest are by far the best! But beware, know your mushrooms!

This recipe was given to me by a dear Romanian friend, who was an excellent cook and I liked it because instead of making the usual base of butter flour and stock, instead she uses brown bread crumbs and this gives a much lighter end result.

* Notes for my cooking students:

Soups fall into two categories, thin consommés and broths and thick puréed and cream soups. The latter are thickened, either by puréeing the ingredients, or by starting with a butter and flour base, called a roux, which results in a Velouté Soup. Thick soups can also be thickened by adding a little of the soup to egg yolks whipped together with cream, returning it to the saucepan with the rest of the soup and heating it gently. In this case the soup must never boil, or the eggs will curdle. Other thickening agents, called ‘Liaisons’ are pulses, pasta or potatoes, often added half way through the cooking time, so it is important to insure they are cooked through. There is nothing worse than uncooked rice at the bottom of a bowl of delicious tasting soup.

Soups are one of my most favourite foods, so nourishing, warming and filling and should always be served piping hot! A good home made stock is always preferable and the vegetables must be very fresh.

This recipe is especially For Denise.

 

 

 

 

 

Easy

 

 

 

 

 

 

4-6 Persons

 

 

 

 

Preparation Time: 30 mins

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

500 g Button Mushrooms

50 g butter

4 slices crustless brown bread made into bread crumbs

500 ml beef/chicken stock

Juice of half a lemon

1 level tsp chilli powder

200-300 ml milk or enough to thin the soup to your required thickness

1 tbs cream (optional)

1 tbs finely chopped parsley or coriander leaves

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Sprigs of parsley or coriander to garnish

Sweet paprika to garnish

 

Method

*Pre-heat soup Tureen or soup bowls, if serving straight away.

1. Cut four slices of good quality brown bread, remove crusts and place in blender, pulse into bread crumbs. (If you don’t have a blender, grate bread on fine cheese grater).

2.Wash mushrooms under running tap and trim stalks by cutting off the ends. (Don’t soak the mushrooms in water as they absorb the moisture and turn black!) Pat mushrooms dry with kitchen paper and add to blender while running, one at a time. Blend until last mushroom is cut up, no more or the mushrooms become a slushy!

3. Place butter in medium saucepan and melt over medium heat, (don’t  allow to brown). Add bread crumbs, turn in butter and then add chopped mushrooms. Mix well.

4. Add stock, place lid over saucepan and leave to gently simmer over a low heat for ten minutes. If the soup is too thick, add a little milk at this stage. As the mushrooms cook, they do give off water.

5. Once cooked, add the rest of the milk until you reach the thickness you require. Some like it thick, others thinner, but it should nor be like porridge or watery. The best consistency is similar to cream, just coating the back of the spoon.

6. Season and add chilli pepper and lemon juice.

7. Just before serving add ‘finely’ chopped parsley or coriander. (If you add it earlier it will not have a nice fresh green colour).

8. Always serve in hot bowls or in a pre-heated soup tureen, with hot crusty bread. Garnish soup tureen or individual soup bowls with a sprig of parsley or coriander. Sprinkle with sweet paprika.

*You can add less stock and more milk in accordance with how creamy you like your soup.

If you don’t have home made stock a good quality beef or chicken cube can be used, 2 may be required, but the best results are always with home made stock!

 

 

1. Break up the crustless brown bread and add to blender.

 

2. Pulse to fine bread crumbs.

 

 

4. Wash mushrooms under running tap trim stalks, by cutting off last section.

 

5. Add to blender all at once, or preferably one at a time while machine is running. Pulse until last mushroom is chopped and turn off blender. Don’t over pulse.

 

6. Add bread crumbs to melting butter along with mushrooms. Add stock, 500 ml, and stir over a low heat.

 

6. Add a few drops of lemon and simmer gently, lid on, over a low heat for ten minutes. If the soup is too thick, add a little milk.

 

7. Season and add 1/2 tsp chilli powder. More if required to attain a gentle, almost undetectable back heat, when tasting the soup.

 

Mix in well and taste.

 

Chilli powders have varying strengths, according to their producers and their freshness, so add less rather than more and keep tasting until the soup is to your required liking.

 

 

Taste again, add more lemon if necessary. The lemon cuts the richness. You should only just be able to detect the lemon. Be sure the soup is well seasoned with salt. If you are using stock cubes, you may not need to add any additional salt.

 

Dilute with milk to attain the thickness of cream.

 

Finally taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add a little full cream to lighten the colour of the soup.

 

Just before serving when heating through for the final time, add ‘finely’ chopped parsley or coriander. This must be done at the last minute so that the herbs keep their nice fresh green colour, otherwise their colour changes.

Stir well and serve in pre-heated soup tureen or individual soup bowls. Soup must always be served piping hot.

Final result !

Garnish with sweet paprika and parsley or coriander leaves.