Cooking
Mushroom Soup for When Toast Needs a Best Friend
Earthy mushrooms, a little garlic, one patient pot, and a swirl of cream make a weeknight soup that is far more convincing than its effort level suggests.
For four bowls, gather 500 g mushrooms, 1 brown onion, 2 garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 30 g butter, 1 tablespoon plain flour, 750 ml vegetable or chicken stock, 125 ml pouring cream, a small handful of thyme or parsley, salt, black pepper, and good toast. Button, Swiss brown, or a cheerful mixture all work. This is soup, not a tribunal; use the mushrooms that look best at the shop.
Step 1 — Wipe the mushrooms with a damp paper towel and slice them. A little dirt is not a personality trait, so give them a quick clean, but do not soak them. Dice the onion and finely chop the garlic. Put a large pot over medium-high heat with the olive oil and butter.
Step 2 — Add the mushrooms with a pinch of salt. At first they will make the pot look wildly overcommitted. Leave them alone for two minutes, then stir occasionally for 8 to 10 minutes until their liquid has cooked away and the edges are deeply golden. This colour is where the soup decides to become interesting.
Step 3 — Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft. Stir in the garlic and thyme for 30 seconds, just until the kitchen smells like someone knows what they are doing. Sprinkle over the flour and stir for a minute; it will help the soup feel silky rather than thin.
Step 4 — Pour in the stock a little at a time, scraping the golden bits from the base of the pot. Bring it to a gentle simmer and cook for 12 minutes. You want a quiet burble, not a volcanic event. Taste and season with black pepper and enough salt to make the mushrooms wake up.
Step 5 — Turn off the heat. Blend the soup with a stick blender until mostly smooth, leaving a little texture if you enjoy knowing there were mushrooms involved. If you are using a countertop blender, let the soup cool slightly and blend in batches; hot soup has ambitions and can escape a sealed blender lid.
Step 6 — Stir in the cream and warm the soup gently for another minute or two. Add a splash of water or stock if it has thickened more than you like. Taste once more, then ladle into warm bowls with chopped parsley, extra pepper, and a small drizzle of olive oil.
Serve with toast rubbed lightly with a cut clove of garlic, or with a grilled cheese sandwich if the day has required emotional as well as nutritional support. The soup keeps well in the fridge for two days, which is delightful because it tastes even more settled the next afternoon.