This flavorful and delicious Cream of Mushroom soup has a hint of sweetness and savory! Ready in 50-minutes, you'll never open another can of mushroom soup again!
This recipe was inspired by the delicious soup served at the landmark Italian restaurant in Dallas, Bugatti's. Restaurant owner, Zee, never would give me his recipe, but he did tell me the two secret ingredients -- sugar and dry sherry.
I experimented for years trying to match his delicious Zuppa du jour ! His version uses chicken stock; in my version, you can use chicken or vegetable broth/stock.
You'll love this recipe!
Healthy-ish - better than high sodium-canned-soups and mushrooms are good for you!
Simple ingredients - nothing fancy! Mushrooms, onion, broth and a touch of sugar and dry sherry
Versatile - make it thick or thin, creamy or chunky -it's your call!
Here's what you need:
The ingredient list for cream of mushroom soup is probably already in your kitchen! Get the freshest mushrooms you can find.
You can use chicken broth if you don't have vegetable broth.
How to make it:
Sometimes, I leave a portion of the mushrooms sliced, just to give added texture. It's up to you. If you want a chunky cream of mushroom soup, don't put the mushrooms in the food processor; just add them (sliced) to the onion and resume recipe.
Tips:
Don't have any sherry?
Substitute any dry white wine or white balsamic vinegar; do not use cooking sherry. It is sweeter than dry sherry.
How to thicken the soup
This recipe is a relatively thin soup; if you prefer a thicker soup, make a thickening slurry: combine 2 tablespoons of flour or cornstarch with 3/4 cup tap water.
Bring soup to boil; add in slurry, whisking constantly. Allow mushroom soup to cook on high heat until it reaches the desired consistency.
Want a silky smooth texture?
Use an immersion hand blender or pour soup into food processor and pulse to desired consistency. Whichever method you use, make sure the soup isn't too hot. You may have to process the soup in batches using the food processor.
How to select mushrooms
Choose mushrooms that are firm with no bruising or mold. Most mushrooms are cello wrapped in the produce section. Select one that is in the back and on the bottom, because extended exposure to the fluorescent grocery store lights turns mushrooms yellow.
How to clean mushrooms
The cardinal rule in the culinary world regarding how to properly clean mushrooms is: don't rinse them. Mushrooms are like little sponges; they absorb whatever liquid they're in. For optimal flavor, use a damp paper towel and wipe away any dirt or debris.
If you must wash them, just give 'em a quick rinse and pat dry immediately.
Types of mushrooms
White button mushrooms are the most popular because of their mild flavor. These young mushrooms are found in salads, pizza toppings and mushroom sauce.
Shiitake mushrooms are on the opposite end of the spectrum of white buttons. They are aged, offer a deep woodsy flavor and are more firm. You'll often find Shitake mushrooms as a meat substitute in vegetarian dishes.
Cremini are small brown mushrooms, often referred to as "baby bellas" and offer a deeper flavor than button mushrooms; they are also a bit firmer than a button mushroom and usually accompany a pork or beef dish. Many Asian dishes use Cremini mushrooms.
You can use any of these in this recipe!
Serving suggestions:
Serve Cream of Mushroom soup with warm French bread as an appetizer or entree. As an appetizer, this pairs well with beef or chicken.
1½cupsheavy creamallow cream to sit out of fridge for about 15 min
3tablespoonssugar
3tablespoonssherry (dry)
salt and pepper to taste
Slurry Ingredients (optional)
2tablespoonscornstarch or flour
¾cupwater
Instructions
Clean mushrooms with damp paper towel; remove stems
Slice mushrooms
In a food processor, pulse 1/2 of the mushrooms until they are fine; leave the other half of the mushrooms sliced
In a large stockpot, heat oil to medium and add onions; cook 5 minutes
Add mushrooms to the onions and oil; combine well and cook for 5 minutes
Add broth, sugar, sherry; bring to boil for 5 minutes; reduce heat to medium low
Add 4 sprigs of thyme to stockpot
Reduce heat to low and add heavy cream; combine well; cover and cook for 15 minutes
Taste for salt and pepper; adjust seasonings to taste; remove thyme sprigs
If you want a thicker soup, add slurry now; bring soup to boil; stir in slurry and allow soup to cook another 5 minutes or until it reaches desired thickness; (If you want it even thicker, add another slurry to the mixture)
Once soup has reached desired consistency, plate and garnish with thyme
Notes
Do not add cold cream to the hot soup; take the cream out of the fridge and let it sit about 10 minutes before adding it
This recipe uses button (white) mushrooms, but you can substitute with any other cultivated mushroom. Button mushrooms are the youngest and mildest; next in line are Cremini, then Portobello, and Shitake. Wild mushrooms are not recommended.
Sometimes, I leave a portion of the mushrooms sliced, just to give added texture. It's up to you. If you want a chunky cream of mushroom soup, don't put the mushrooms in the food processor; just add them (sliced) to the onion and resume recipe.
Want a thicker soup? Add a slurry
This recipe is a relatively thin soup; if you prefer a thicker soup, make a thickening slurry: combine 2 tablespoons of flour or cornstarch with 3/4 cup tap water. Bring soup to boil; add in slurry, whisking constantly. Allow mushroom soup to cook on high heat until it reaches the desired consistency.
If it's not thick enough for you, you can either add another slurry or, ladle out about 1/2 cup of soup into a measuring cup, mix in 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, then pour it in the soup
If you add a second slurry, you may have to add a little more sugar and sherry
Adjust salt and pepper after adding slurry
Want a silky smooth soup?
Use an immersion blender or pour soup into food processor and pulse
Do either of these before the soup gets too hot or after it's cooled
I'd love to hear from you!