Three Mushroom Soup

 

Years ago, when I lived in a small studio apartment on East 61st Street in Manhattan, I grew fond of the Hungarian Mushroom Soup recipe in the Moosewood Cookbook. When the weather would turn, I'd make myself a batch - freezing some and keeping some handy for the week ahead. The recipe followed me to Brooklyn and the soup would fortify me before heading over to Tom's place for our weekly chess game. 

I haven't made that soup in a long time, and I haven't played chess with Tom in even longer. I got to thinking about those days and figured it was time to make some Mushroom Soup again. This one is different from the Moosewood version, but it serves all the same purposes. 

Maybe I should give Tom a call, too.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 lbs Mushrooms. I used a combination of Shiitake, White, and Baby Portabella. 
• 1 Large Onion, diced
• 1 Clove of Garlic, diced
• 3 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Quarts of Vegetable Stock
• 1 Tbs Paprika
• 6 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Parsley
• Juice from 1/2 of a lemon
• 2 Tsp Kosher Salt
• 1 Tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper 

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until tender - 5-6 minutes - stirring often.

Clean your mushrooms to remove any surface dirt. Slice mushrooms and add to the soup pot, along with the garlic. Raise the heat to high and cook the mushrooms down, allowing them to release all of their liquid. Continue cooking, stirring every few minutes, for 15 minutes. 

Add the vegetable stock, paprika, salt, pepper, and thyme sprigs to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. 

Fish out the now bare thyme sprigs (the leaves will have fallen off and are now in your soup). Using an immersion blender, or a counter top blender, blend the soup. Leave about 1/4 of the mushrooms un-blended.

Stir in the lemon juice and parsley just before serving.