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Provenance of Dish
I know everyone has got their favorite cream of mushroom soup and I also know a lot of us have or favorite foraging spots. That leads to a tremendous amount of awesome cream of mushroom soups, all with slight variances. This recipe in particular represents a place and time in the Pacific Northwest when mostly Pacific Golden Chanterelles, Cascade Chanterelles, White Chanterelles, Boletes, and Lobsters seem to hit all at once. Each mushroom variety plays its own role in taste and nuance, this one is very Pacific Northwest in origins and taste of place. I've also tried it with sourdough cinnamon, pepper crouton crumbs with awesome results.
Recipe
Ingredients
2 tbsp rendered bacon fat
1 tbsp salted creamery butter
7 cloves garlic (peeled, crushed, and rough chopped)
1 large, sweet onion (peeled and small diced)
1½ miscellaneous wild mushrooms such as chanterelles, morels, boletes, lobsters, black trumpets, and/or oysters (rough chopped)
½ cup caramelized onions
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp fresh rosemary (fine chopped)
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
¼ cup dry mushroom mix (crush in your hands)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
6 cups mushrooms stock, chicken stock, or water
1½ cups heavy cream
2 cups thick sliced or torn misc. wild mushrooms
3 thyme sprigs, top leaves for garnish
2 tbsp butter
kosher salt and cracked black pepper
Instructions
in the saucepan over medium-low heat, add the bacon fat and butter then the onions and garlic and sweat until the onions have just turned translucent.
then add the sliced mushroom mix, the rosemary, thyme, and sauté over medium heat for 8-10 minutes. stirring occasionally, add the flour to create a roux stirring well to combine.
add the stock, dry mushroom mix, caramelized onions, salt and pepper, balsamic vinegar, and simmer over medium to low heat for 25-30 minutes stirring occasionally. (if the mixture is looking like it needs a little extra liquid, I would add an additional stock here)
in a high-speed blender or with a handheld immersion blender, puree the soup to your desired consistency adding back to an empty pot.
stir in heavy cream and adjust the seasonings with additional salt, pepper, balsamic, and thyme if desired.
keep the soup warm and ready to serve.
for the garnish sauté the thick cut mushrooms of your choice in butter until butter is slightly brown and nutty. when done, add the fresh thyme leaves and stir to combine well. remove from heat.
garnish each soup with several sautéed mushrooms, pan drippings and thyme sprigs.
serve soup hot.
