Cream of mushroom soup: velvety, with fried mushrooms and croutons
A button-mushroom soup with a deep, almost wild-mushroom flavour, thanks to one step: the mushrooms are fried first in butter over high heat until browned, and only then covered with stock. A potato gives body without flour, cream gives velvet, lemon wakes the flavour. On top, reserved slices fried crisp, and croutons. Forty-five minutes, one pot.
Your own work in that: 28 min.
- Frying the mushrooms 18 min
- Simmering 17 min
- Blending and toppings 10 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneSlice the mushrooms
Wipe the mushrooms with a damp cloth (don't soak them: wet mushrooms brown poorly) and slice. Set aside a handful of the prettiest slices for the top of the soup.
Ingredients: 600 g button mushrooms · 50 g butter · 1 pcs onion · 2 cloves garlic · 1 pcs potato · 800 ml vegetable stock · 150 ml whipping cream (30%) · ½ tsp dried marjoram · ½ pcs lemon, juice · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper · 1 pinch nutmeg
Slices, a handful kept back for the topFry until browned
Heat the butter in a wide pot over high heat and add the mushrooms. Don't stir for the first 2 minutes, then fry, stirring now and then, another 8–10 minutes, until they release their water, the water evaporates and the slices brown at the edges. Only now salt lightly.
TipBrowned edges are the whole flavour of this soup: the Maillard reaction gives a depth boiled mushrooms never have. Too many mushrooms in the pot at once means stewing, not frying; if your pot is small, fry in two batches.
Water gone, edges brownedAdd the onion, garlic and potato
Lower the heat, add the chopped onion and fry 4 minutes, until soft. Add the crushed garlic, marjoram and the finely diced potato, fry a minute.
Onion, garlic, potato into the potSimmer in stock
Pour in the hot stock, bring to the boil and simmer covered 15 minutes, until the potato is completely soft. It is what thickens the soup, so it must collapse under a spoon.
A quarter hour, until the potato collapsesBlend with the cream
Blend with a stick blender into a smooth cream, 2 minutes. Pour in the cream (keep 2 tablespoons back for serving), season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and lemon juice. Bring back to the boil. Too thick? Add stock; too thin? Simmer 5 minutes uncovered.
TipThe lemon should not read as sourness. A few drops wake the mushroom flavour, the way salt wakes a cake.
Smooth cream, cream, lemonFry the slices and croutons
Fry the reserved mushroom slices in half the butter until golden, 3 minutes. Cube the bread and fry in the rest of the butter until crisp, 3 minutes, salt.
Ingredients: 2 pcs bread roll or bread · 20 g butter · ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley
Slices golden, croutons crispServe
Ladle into bowls, top with the mushroom slices, croutons, a few drops of cream and parsley. Keeps 3 days in the fridge; always add fresh croutons.
Slices, croutons, cream, parsley
Before you start
With dried mushrooms
Soak three dried porcini in 100 ml boiling water for 20 minutes, chop and add with the stock along with the soaking water: a darker, forest-flavoured cream.
Without cream
A second potato instead of cream and a tablespoon of olive oil at the end: lighter and still creamy. Swap the butter for olive oil and it is vegan too.
Grey and watery
The mushrooms were stewed, not fried. Fewer at a time, high heat, patience until they brown.
