Wild Mushroom Soup

Soup

This is intensely savoury and deeply layered, with an almost meaty richness that fills your mouth. Golden chanterelles bring subtle honeyed notes, porcini add serious umami depth, and cream turns it all silky and luxurious. It's rich but never heavy, complex but not fussy, with that profound autumn flavour that makes you reach for more bread to mop up every last drop.

Pin recipe Print

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Servings 4

Ingredients 

1x2x3x?

• 400 gr chanterelles
• 150 gr porcini
• 50 gr black trumpet mushrooms
• 50 gr unsalted butter
• 2 shallots
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 100 ml dry white wine optional
• 1 l vegetable stock
• 150 ml crème fraîche or double cream
• handful flat-leaf parsley
• salt and black pepper

Equipment

dutch oven

wooden spoon

hand blender optional

knife

chopping board

ladle

Instructions

1. Prepare the mushrooms

• If you're using fresh wild mushrooms, brush off any dirt with a damp cloth or mushroom brush. Don't wash them, they'll turn soggy. Trim any woody ends. Chanterelles can be left whole if they're small, or torn into pieces if large (they're easier to tear than cut). Slice the porcini. Leave the trompettes whole, they're delicate.

  If you're using dried porcini instead of fresh, pour 500ml boiling water over them and let them soak for 30 minutes. Squeeze them out (keep that soaking liquid, it's gold) and chop roughly. Strain the soaking liquid through a fine sieve lined with kitchen paper to catch any grit, then use it as part of your stock.

2. Build the base

• Melt the butter in your saucepan over medium heat. When it's foaming, add the shallots and a pinch of salt. Cook gently for 5-6 minutes until they're soft and translucent but not coloured. Add the garlic and thyme, cook for another minute until fragrant.

3. Sauté the mushrooms

• Turn the heat up to medium-high and add half your mushrooms. They'll release liquid, let it cook off completely before adding the second batch. This takes patience but it's crucial. You want them golden and caramelised, not steamed. Season well with salt and pepper as they cook. The whole process takes about 10-12 minutes.

4. Deglaze and simmer (optional wine step)

• If using wine, pour it in now and let it bubble away for 2-3 minutes, scraping up any sticky bits from the bottom of the pan. Those are flavour. If you're not using wine, just add an extra 100ml of stock instead, plenty of traditional French versions skip the wine entirely. Add your stock (and mushroom soaking liquid if using dried porcini), bring to a simmer, and cook gently for 20 minutes. The soup should smell intensely of mushrooms and the liquid will have reduced slightly.

5. Blend (or don't)

• Here's where you decide what kind of soup you're making. You can leave it chunky, just fish out the thyme stalks and you're done. Or for something smoother, use a hand blender to blitz about half the soup, leaving plenty of texture. If you want full velouté territory, blend it until silky smooth. Your choice.

6. Finish the soup

• Stir in the crème fraîche. Taste and adjust the seasoning. It'll probably need more salt than you think and a good grind of black pepper.

7. Serve

• Ladle the soup into warmed bowls, scatter over the chopped parsley, and top with garlic croûtons if you feeling fancy. Serve immediately. Maybe with more bread on the side because you'll want to mop up every drop.

Notes

The specific varieties of mushrooms matter for authentic flavour:

• Chanterelles: Delicate, slightly fruity, golden colour, the star of French wild mushroom cookery
• Porcini: Rich, meaty, deeply earthy, provides the backbone of flavour
• Black trumpets (trompettes de la mort): Intensely flavoured despite the morbid name, and adds depth

Can’t get wild mushrooms? Use 400g mixed “exotic” mushrooms from the supermarket (shiitake, oyster, chestnut) plus 30g dried porcini rehydrated. It’s not quite the same but it’s still bloody good. The dried porcini are crucial, they add that wild mushroom intensity fresh cultivated mushrooms lack.

• The soup keeps well for 3-4 days in the fridge and actually tastes better the next day once the flavours have had time to get properly acquainted. Reheat gently and make fresh croûtons when serving.

About this recipe

This wild mushroom soup is the kind of thing you make on a cold October afternoon when the light is low and you want something that tastes genuinely deep and savoury. Rich without being heavy, complex without being fussy, and it makes the whole kitchen smell extraordinary while it cooks.

The key is the mushrooms. Not just any mushrooms. A proper combination of chanterelles, porcini, and black trumpets, each one bringing something different to the bowl.

Why these three mushrooms?

Most mushroom soup recipes lean on a single variety, which is fine, but it is the combination that creates the real depth here.

Chanterelles are the golden, delicately fruity ones you see at farmers’ markets from late summer through autumn. They are the star of French wild mushroom cookery for good reason. Their flavour is subtle and slightly honeyed, and they hold their texture beautifully in this chanterelles soup. Porcini are the backbone. Rich, meaty, and deeply earthy, they provide an almost beef-like umami that you simply cannot get from cultivated mushrooms. If you can only find dried porcini rather than fresh, that is absolutely fine. Rehydrate them in boiling water and use that soaking liquid as part of your stock. It is pure flavour and a shame to throw away. This porcini soup base is what gives the finished dish its depth.

Black trumpets, or trompettes de la mort (yes, mushrooms of death, the French do love a dramatic name) look intimidating but taste extraordinary. Dark, intensely savoury, a small handful adds a complexity that lifts the whole soup.

Can’t find wild mushrooms? Use 400g of mixed exotic mushrooms, shiitake, oyster, chestnut, plus 30g of dried porcini. With good technique it is still a very good mushroom soup recipe.

The French approach to mushroom soup

What you will not find in a traditional French mushroom soup is a flour-thickened base. The French do not thicken mushroom soup with roux. They let the mushrooms do the work, finishing with crème fraîche or a knob of butter whisked in at the end. The result is silky and cohesive rather than starchy and heavy.

The other non-negotiable is the sautéing step. Cook your mushrooms in butter over high heat until golden and caramelised before adding any liquid. This drives off the moisture and concentrates the flavour. Skip this step and you will end up with something pale and watery. Take the time to do it properly and the difference is remarkable.

What to cook it in

A wide, heavy-based pot is what you want here. Something that holds an even heat so the mushrooms caramelise properly rather than steam. I use a Staub cocotte for this soup and honestly for most things that need long, steady heat. The cast iron distributes it evenly, the black enamel interior handles the high-heat sautéing step without any issue, and it goes straight from hob to table. It’s one of those pots you reach for constantly once you have it.

Foraging your own mushrooms

There is nothing quite like making this wild mushroom soup with mushrooms you have found yourself. Autumn foraging for chanterelles and porcini is one of the great seasonal pleasures, particularly in oak and chestnut woodland where they tend to grow in clusters. Going out with a basket on a damp September morning and coming home to make this soup from what you have found is a very French experience, and a very good one.

If foraging interests you, the Opinel mushroom foraging knife is the classic choice. It has a curved blade for cutting cleanly at the stem and a stiff brush on the handle for removing soil and debris in the field. Compact, practical, and the tool French foragers have been reaching for generations. Always go with someone experienced the first few times and use a reliable field guide. There are lookalikes for several edible varieties, so knowledge matters.

How to serve it

You have three options at the blending stage and all of them work. Leave it chunky and rustic. Blitz about half of it for a soup with body and some texture. Or blend it completely smooth for a proper velouté, which makes a beautiful dinner party starter. The smooth version is more elegant. The chunky version is what you want for lunch with thick bread on the side.

Either way, serve in warmed bowls with fresh flat-leaf parsley scattered over the top. Garlic croûtons if you want to make it more substantial. Good bread regardless, because you will use it to mop up every last drop.

This mushroom soup keeps for three to four days in the fridge and tastes better the next day once the flavours have had proper time together. Reheat gently and do not let it boil once the cream is in.