Lately, I've been heavily into making soups. It might be the sudden winter cold that's accelerating my ascension to complete babushka level. It was, I trust, inevitable. So the inevitability of that, coupled with the sheer satisfaction of coming in from the chill (it snowed on Saturday!) and settling yourself before some hot soup, has got me cooking a lot of cream soups. It's a bit of a challenge with my tiny-ass blender, but I suppose that is part of the charm.
I think cream soup of any variety is great when your body is feeling overwhelmed or in need of some gentle TLC. I tend to associate this type of soup with being ill. I don't get ill often at all, but when my throat's fucked and I feel the world is unsteady, cream soup is most nourishing.
One aspect of soups that I love is the room for improvisation. You can throw almost anything in them, and they still come out more or less alright. You can also skip ingredients at will, and be none the wiser. For this, I used this Romanian recipe for mushroom soup, but altered it at my own discretion since I wanted to get more. So I used twice the amount of mushrooms, but not some of the other things, which I judged to be fairly optional. It came out, if I do dare say so myself, great.
You might need
- 1 kg of mushrooms (buttons work well, but also cremini)
- 1 kg potatoes (again, for that amount of mushrooms, you should technically have 2 kg of potatoes, but personally I don't find them that necessary in mushroom soup, so I halved the amount)
- 3 medium white onions
- Garlic cloves at will *I think I used 6-7)
- 30 g butter
- 2 tbsp oil
- Green stuff (parsley and chives work well)
- Sour cream and croutons to taste.
There's a recipe that'll keep you fed for a good few days without breaking the bank.
You might do
You begin by washing everything - the mushrooms, the potatoes, onions and greens. And cutting them all up. There's no strict rule about how to cut them - I cut both the mushrooms and potatoes into small-ish cubes. The main thing here is that the cubes are more or less even-sized. That way, they will cook at the same time. If you cut some bits and the others tiny, the small bits will turn to mush while the bigger ones cook.
For the onions, you want to get fairly thin slices. Really, I just oriented myself off the photos in the original recipe. No need to go all out and do a Julienne cut, but don't dice them either. Just cut onions. And watch yourself. There's a lot to cry about in the world today, so this might just be your excuse to shed a few without making a scene.
What ever next? Next I dumped the butter and oil into a large pot - this will be the pot you cook the soup in, so make sure all ingredients can fit! - and set them to heat. You can improvise here, also, only use butter or only oil or whatever you prefer. Next, you'll dump the sliced onions in here, lower the heat and remember to stir. You don't want the onions to brown, only to turn glassy.
Next, add the mushrooms and salt and pepper to taste (yeah, I forgot about those up above, but really, if you're missing salt and pepper, there's bigger concerns afoot). Leave these to saute for 7 minutes or so (with the pot lid off).
After that, add the potatoes and leave to saute for another 3-4 minutes. Also sans lid, according to the recipe. Personally, I used the lid, since I like the softening effect of the steam. But you know, you do you. They're your potatoes.
After this bit is over, add water until the contents of the pot are submerged. The original recipe calls for 2 liters (so that should be 2.5 - 3 for ours). My pot wouldn't hold more than 1.5, so see what works for you. And just let boil for 40-ish minutes. You'll know it's done when you can skewer the potatoes on a fork.
Don't forget to add green things, if using any, for the last 15 mins or so.
Once everything is cooked through, transfer to blender and blend according to capacity :D You can also add sour cream to the soup during the blending process, or later in the bowl. And because croutons are a must and if we're doing potatoes, we might as well do bread, get bread. I don't know if where you are, they sell actual croutons, but here it's just toasting bread and cutting it up into small bits. For an even better experience, spread olive oil before toasting it (in a pan, not in the toaster - duh).
And, I guess, enjoy.
Permit me to inhale the aroma coming from this post first and this recipe is definitely going to taste delicious.
My appetite has been terrible since I got ill the other time and taking different soups has been my saving grace. For the potatoes, I can improvise with yam or even plantain but getting mushrooms here is kind of impossible.
I was a kid the last time I ate mushrooms... Thanks for sharing this tasty one.
I had no idea! Though honestly yams are probably really tasty in soup, too. I've never considered using plantains in soup - is that good? Also, sorry to hear about your appetite, George. I hope you get back on track soon!
Oh yes!!! Especially when it starts to get cold.
Today was butternut squash soup with sweet potato dumplings.
Oh squash soup...yum <3 Sweet potato dumplings are something I have not yet tried, but I am definitely gonna look for a recipe now! Thanks for the curation by the way :)
I made them like gnocchi, but I wasn't very impressed (good, but not amazing). The regular potatoes work better :)
Thank you!
Gee, that looks good. Just what I need right now.
The weather in Israel and Cyprus changed suddenly on Sunday, dropping by 10C from ~24C - ~14 C during the day.
On Friday I was at the beach in Tel Aviv sunning myself and on Sunday and today in Cyprus its the coldest I ever remember, with a very strong cold northerly wind coming Turkey and further North (ie your vicinity).
You sent the cold front can you also send soup. :-)
Maybe I should get off my ass and make it to your recipe.
Sorry to hear. Maybe it redresses itself? Still, sunning yourself in November is pretty good!
Also, we take no responsibility. I think it's the Brits sending cold wind onto the continent. Either that or the Germans.
Yes, I am!😋
I'd love to taste this. I have been craving pottages recently, and I plan to look up an old recipe that I used to cook many moons ago.
Soups are perfect when we're cruising in the winter because hubby has to stand in the cold for many hours... so he appreciates when I hand him a flask of soup.
Mushrooms are one of my favourites too. I like that you (Romanians, from what I noticed) like to cook from scratch.
The UK is big on ready-to-cook meals, which is not really 'cooking' to me:)))
Ready to cook meals? As in frozen or like those things you just put in the oven/microwave? :O
Yeah, mainly that, and I guess frozen too.
They don't like cooking from scratch, more emphasis is based on alcohol and then quick easy meals😆
i am a soup person, of course for the rainy season. Its good for the body.
This soup looks so good and creay🤩 looks a perfect soup for a cold day, I like making soups in winter but I didn't make much of them in these days, shame on me 🤣
Your soup looks...Mmm...super interesting and delicious...and I dare say that it is mysterious to me since I have never tried mushrooms, can you describe the flavor to me and compare it with another vegetable or food? I love soups, although this type that looks like a cream in my country is not very common, but it makes my mouth water because of its appearance.
That looks rich and tasty, a perfect pair I think with some bread. Love the ingredients used too. Though I never really tried that combination, but I bet it is the best combination.