Cream of Mushroom Soup or Velouté

 

Cream of Mushroom Soup or Velouté

16 oz fresh button or cremini mushrooms stems cut and caps sliced
1 small onion or a large shallot chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon oil to sauté onion
4 tablespoons butter to sauté mushrooms
1 clove garlic micro-minced
3-4 cups water or vegetable stock
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
dash of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1/8 cup of sherry wine (use the good stuff)
1/2 cup heavy cream (half and half or milk if you prefer)

Sauté finely chopped onion in oil. When onion is softened, remove onion from pan and set aside. Sauté in butter the mushroom stems first then add sliced mushrooms. Stir and sauté till softened and mushrooms turn a darkened golden brown. Add micro-minced garlic and sauté for one more minute. Add water (or stock) and remaining ingredients except cream. Bring mixture to a boil then turn down heat and simmer for one hour.

Do not omit the sherry. Even if you don't drink, the alcohol cooks off and you are left with the flavor of the sweet sherry. Don't get cooking sherry since it is not as tasty as the sherry found in the wine section of the grocery store. I keep the bottle in my fridge and it lasts for months since so little is needed for various recipes I make. Close your eyes and take a waft of the soup cooking; the fragrance coming from the soup will transport you to a French bistro.

After soup has simmered for an hour, let it cool somewhat. I let the soup cool and put it in the fridge to finish it the next day. I find refrigerating soup overnight enhances the flavor. Next whirl the soup up in a blender (be careful if soup is too hot when blending). Put soup back in the pan, heat up again, then add the cream. Keep heat on medium low. If mixture is too thin, add 2 tablespoons of rice flour or 1 tablespoon of corn starch, either of which should be mixed with water beforehand to make a slurry. Stir soup continuously till it thickens. Correct your seasoning. I had to add more salt, pepper, cayenne, thyme and a dash of sherry. Garnish with some sliced mushrooms or parsley leaves and serve with a nice piece of crusty bread. This soup is nothing like the cream of mushroom soup you get in a can, trust me on that. Don't think it's velouté, try it over pasta and let me know what you think. Enjoy !