Cream of Mushroom Soup

Cream of mushroom is a great soup to have on hand for the winter, and it’s actually one of the simplest soups to make. There are three components to good cream of mushroom: a good bechamel, sauteed mushrooms, and good duxelles.

Whether someone recommends washing mushrooms in an application like this can be quite a point of contention, and, putting this out on the internet, I fully recognize I might be putting myself in a position to have a heated discussion in the comments below. For several years, I was of the opinion that white, baby bella, or cremini mushrooms shouldn’t be washed per se, and that they should just be scrubbed with a moist paper towel to remove any grime that might be on the surface. But now, after dozens of experiments, I’ve concluded that washing mushrooms by submersion makes no difference to the saturation when compared to the moist-paper-towel-scrubbing method. Personally, then, I’ve returned to submerging the mushrooms, but if you would like to, feel free to scrub them individually.

Cream of mushroom makes use of the whole mushroom—the cap and the stem. But unlike other dishes I’ve developed that use mushrooms (like this stroganoff), the cap and stem are not used together. For this, we need to separate the cap and the stem from each other. This is a simple process that can certainly be done by hand. To do this, I like to place the cap of the mushroom in my non-dominant hand; grab the stem with my dominant hand, and then gently twist clockwise until the cap and the stem have come apart. Keep the caps on your cutting board and go ahead and place the stems in your food processor.

Peel and quarter one large yellow onion, and peel half of a head of garlic, placing both the onion and the garlic with the mushroom stems. Run the food processor until the mushroom stems, onion, and garlic cloves have become a relatively homogenous paste. This will eventually become the duxelles.

Slice the caps into relatively even pieces; in general, cutting each cap into 3 to 4 pieces should be a good size. Smaller-than-average mushrooms should be cut only in half, and larger-than-average mushrooms can be cut into up to 6 pieces. Coat the bottom of a Dutch oven or large saucepan (at least 4-5 quarts) with a thin film of oil. When the oil begins to shimmer, place the sliced caps in the oil. Be careful to avoid splatter. Water in the mushrooms may splatter when it hits the hot oil, so a burn hazard certainly exists at this point. Early in this process, there is no risk of the mushrooms burning, but as they expel water and begin to sauté, these mushrooms need progressively more attention. The sound you’ll be hearing when the mushrooms expel water versus when they sauté will be different, and you’ll learn to recognize the different phases of the cooking process by experience. Once the mushrooms start to sauté, add 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, and let the vinegar cook down a little with the mushrooms, taking care not to burn anything. Season with salt, freshly cracked black pepper, dried thyme, and dried dill. After a few more minutes, transfer the mushrooms and the vinegar to a separate heat-safe container.

In the same pan, cook down the mushroom stalk-onion-garlic paste from the food processor. Season the paste with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Once most of the moisture has come out of the onions and garlic (this requires constant stirring since the pieces are so much smaller than the pieces of the caps), reserve this to a separate container. This is the duxelles.

For the last time, start over with a clean pan, being sure to remove anything that may have burned to this point. Build a béchamel using the method I’ve outlined here. Once the béchamel is ready, return the duxelles and the mushrooms caps to the pan. Stir. Adjust the consistency of the soup and check for seasoning. Adjust the consistency and/or the seasoning if necessary.

(Photo credits to Cafe Delites)