Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup--Barefoot Bloggers

I was excited to try the second Barefoot Blogger's recipe for September, Ina's Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup selected by Chelle of Brown Eyed Baker. This recipe was from The Barefoot Contessa's "Mystery Guest" episode where one of Ina's fabulous friends brings a surprise guest (Mel Brooks) to her house for dinner. This was also the episode that gave us the Parmesan Chicken we made in June and Ina also served Blini with Smoked Salmon. Damn Ina, that is a lot of rich food-I hope Mel made it out with his arteries intact!

I make a lot of soup but have never made cream of mushroom soup before. Wild mushrooms aren't cheap here and I probably should have tried to reduce the fat content a bit but I thought if I was gonna do it--go big! and I bought all the ingredients listed. I'll apologise now for the pictures--I started out strong but was multitasking with my Royal Foodie Joust entry and I had the almost tragic finger tip removal incident. By the time I got the soup plated and ready to shoot pictures my throbbing finger and I were so over it that I just kind of snapped a few quick ones of the finished product.

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You can find the recipe here on Food Network or on page 48 of The Barefoot Contessa At Home.

Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup

by Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa

Yields 5-6 servings

Ingredients
5 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms
5 ounces fresh portobello mushrooms
5 ounces fresh cremini (or porcini) mushrooms
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1/4 pound (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 carrot, chopped
1 sprig fresh thyme plus 1 teaspoon minced thyme leaves, divided
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions
Clean the mushrooms by wiping them with a dry paper towel. Don't wash them! Separate the stems, trim off any bad parts, and coarsely chop the stems. Slice the mushroom caps 1/4-inch thick and, if there are big, cut them into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

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To make the stock, heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large pot. Add the chopped mushroom stems, the onion, carrot, the sprig of thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.

Add 6 cups water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid. You should have about 4 1/2 cups of stock. If not, add some water.

Meanwhile, in another large pot, heat the remaining 1/4 pound of butter and add the leeks. Cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the leeks begin to brown.

Add the sliced mushroom caps and cook for 10 minutes, or until they are browned and tender. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and stir for another minute, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the mushroom stock, minced thyme leaves, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the half-and-half, cream, and parsley, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and heat through but do not boil. Serve hot.

Results: This is a very creamy, decadent, flavorful soup--I would definitely reduce the fat if making it again. It was a lot of steps but it went together easily. I served it with some baguette slices rubbed with garlic, drizzled with olive oil and sea salt and crisped in the oven, then topped with goat cheese, black pepper and a sprig of fresh thyme. (Yum!) Truth be told, although I liked the soup, I was more interested in the cheese toasts than the soup itself the night I made it. It wasn't until my third bowl, a couple days later that the flavors seemed to pop and I really loved the soup. I think it definitely is better after sitting around for a couple days. You can check out how the other Barefoot Bloggers liked it here.

Great choice in recipes Chelle! Come join us at Barefoot Bloggers (you can get the scoop about this fun blogging event here). If you join now you can delight in cooking the incredibly wonderful recipe picks from Rachel of Rachel Likes to Cook and well...ME! It seems that a couple of people are no longer Barefoot Bloggers and I am the second pick in October now. (Woo hoo--moving on up!) I sent my pick in to Tara today so tune in soon to see what yummy dishes Rachel and I have selected!