Cream of mushroom soup
Nothing like the can: deeply browned mushrooms, shallot and thyme in a silky, creamy soup that tastes rich and earthy in every spoonful.
- 40 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $3.93 a serving
- 340 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 8 oz baby bella mushrooms
- 8 oz white mushrooms
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- ½ cup half-and-half
- ¼ lemon, juiced
- 2 slices sourdough bread, toasted (optional)
From your pantry
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 340 calories, 10 g protein, 25 g carbs and 25 g fat, and costs about $3.93 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No sourdough bread? French bread works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
half the mushrooms and the rest. the shallot and garlic.
Finely chop. Finely chopping means cutting food into small pieces, a little bigger than minced, about the size of a lentil. Small pieces spread their flavor through the dish and cook quickly.
How you’ll know: Nothing is bigger than a lentil, and the pile looks like confetti rather than paste.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Dolly’s tip: The finely chopped mushrooms melt into the soup and make it creamy. The slices give you something to bite.the butter in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add all the mushrooms and the salt and cook, stirring now and then, for 10 to 12 minutes, until their liquid has cooked off and they’re deep .
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 11 min
Dolly’s tip: They’ll let off a puddle of water first. Keep going. The flavor comes after the water is gone and they start to brown.Turn the heat to medium, add the shallot, garlic and thyme and cook for 2 minutes, until soft.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min
Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute, until no dry flour shows.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Slowly in the broth, scraping up the brown bits, and for 8 minutes, until it .
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Low heatTimer: 8 min
Stir in the half-and-half and heat until steaming, without letting it .
Boil. Boiling means heating a liquid until big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. It’s the fastest way to cook pasta, potatoes and eggs, because it’s as hot as water gets.
How you’ll know: Bubbles are breaking across the whole surface, not just at the edges, and steam is rising.
Low heat
Add the pepper and lemon juice, taste for salt, and serve with toasted bread for dunking.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
