Creamy Chanterelle Mushroom Soup

Photo by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

from The Food Lab book on SeriousEats.com

submitted by Anne Halsted

preparation time: 1 hour overall

serves 8

1 pound chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed, trimmings reserved

1½ quarts low-sodium homemade or store bought chicken broth

7 tablespoons butter, divided

1½ medium shallots, thinly sliced (about ½ cup), plus ½ shallot minced (about 2 tablespoons)

3 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced (about 1 tablespoon)

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup dry sherry or white wine

2 bay leaves

6 thyme sprigs, plus ½ teaspoon picked thyme leaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Set ½ cup mushrooms aside for garnish. Place mushroom trimmings in a medium saucepan. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a sub-simmer and keep warm.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until very soft but not browned, about 8 minutes. Add mushrooms (except for garnish) to pot and cook, stirring frequently, until excess liquid evaporates and mushrooms start to sizzle, about 10 minutes.

Add flour and stir to incorporate. Cook for 30 seconds. Add sherry or white wine, increase heat, bring to boil, and cook, stirring constantly and scraping bottom of pan, until thick and syrupy, about 1 minute. Place a fine mesh strainer over the soup and pour the mushroom-infused broth through it. Discard mushroom scraps. Add bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Bring soup to a simmer and adjust heat to maintain a bare bubble. Let simmer for 30 minutes.

Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs and transfer soup to a blender. Blend, starting on low speed and slowly getting faster. Once at full speed, add four tablespoons softened butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until fully incorporated. Continue blending until completely smooth. Rinse out soup pot and pour soup back into it through a chinois or fine mesh strainer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over high heat until lightly smoking. Add reserved mushrooms and cook, tossing continuously, until browned, about 2 minutes. Add minced shallots and thyme sprigs and toss until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add 2 tablespoons water and the remaining tablespoon of butter. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into warm bowls and top with sautéed mushroom mixture. Serve immediately.

Note: This recipe will work with any kind of mushroom. To trim chanterelles, scrape the sides of the stems with a sharp paring knife, then cut off the very bottom portion of the stem. Reserve trimmings. Split larger mushrooms in halves or quarters.