Chanterelle Soup

Method
1. In a saucepan melt the butter over medium heat, cook the chanterelles, shallots and a bit of salt for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the shallots are translucent
2. Add the flour to the mushroom mixture and cook for an additional minute, until the flour is smoothly incorporated
3. Add the white wine and continue to stir until it has cooked out
4. Whisk in 2 cups (one at a time) of broth to the mushroom mixture. In a second large sauce pan set aside the remaining 4 cups of broth
5. Puree the mushroom mixture and then whisk it into the set aside broth. Simmer for 10 minutes
6. Slowly stir in the cup of cream without letting the soup boil
7. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with fresh chives or parsley. Don’t forget some French bread for dipping and smearing

Notes: I typically make this soup during winter using preserved chanterelles but you can use any fresh mushrooms in their place. To preserve I lightly sauté chanterelles in butter (don’t cook them until they’ve released their water), and then store them in a glass container. Then pour in enough melted butter that all the mushrooms are covered. Let this cool to room temperature and then seal and put in freezer until the day you’re ready to cook them. Easy, but give them time to thaw before placing them in the saucepan! Yes, this does add an additional tablespoon or so of butter, you can account for this in the 6 tablespoons of butter the recipe calls for... or not. I choose to not.