By roasting the mushrooms for this soup in the oven, you make them tender and juicy. When you uncover the pan, they brown and shrink slightly, concentrating the flavor. Save time by making the rest of the soup while the mushrooms are in the oven.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fresh button mushrooms, coarsely chopped
- 8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups vegetable stock (or beef or chicken stock)
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large scallions, chopped
Preparation
- Heat the oven to 400 F. Place the coarsely chopped mushrooms on a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Cover the pan with foil and roast for 20 minutes, then uncover the pan and roast for 10 minutes longer. Cool on a rack.
- While the mushrooms roast, melt the butter in a large pot over low heat. When melted, raise the heat to medium-high and add the onion and thyme. Stir until the onions start to crackle, then reduce the heat to low for five minutes.
- When the onions are soft, sprinkle the flour over the onions in the pan and stir to coat. Stir for two minutes or so to lightly cook the flour.
- Gradually mix in ½ cup of stock, whisking to incorporate the flour and make a thick, smooth paste before whisking in another ½ cup, then stirring in the rest until smooth. Whisk in the milk and pepper and raise the heat to medium. Whisk until hot and slightly thickened, but don’t bring to a boil.
- Stir in the roasted mushrooms and their juices and turn the heat to low and stir for five minutes to infuse the soup with mushroom flavor.
- Serve sprinkled with chopped scallions.
Serving Suggestion
Serve this hearty soup along with some crusty bread and a simple mixed green salad.
Nutritional Information
190 calories, 11 g. fat, 20 mg. cholesterol, 550 mg. sodium, 18 g. carbohydrate, 3 g. fiber, 6 g. protein