Wild Mushroom Soup
Wild mushrooms, chanterelles, porcini and black trumpet mushrooms, simmered with shallots, garlic and thyme until meaty and savoury, then finished with cream until silky and rich. A soup you mop up with bread until the bowl is clean!
Ingredients
- 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
- hand blender optional
Instructions
1. Prepare the mushrooms
- Brush off any dirt with a damp cloth (don't wash them). Trim woody ends. Leave small chanterelles whole or tear larger ones; slice the porcini; leave the trompettes whole. If using dried porcini, soak in 500ml boiling water for 30 minutes, squeeze out and chop, and strain the soaking liquid through a paper-lined sieve to use as stock.
2. Build the base
- Melt the butter in the cocotte over medium heat. When foaming, add the shallots and a pinch of salt and cook gently 5 to 6 minutes until soft, without colouring. Add the garlic and thyme for a minute.
3. Sauté the mushrooms
- Turn up to medium-high and add half the mushrooms. Let their liquid cook off completely before adding the rest. Season well. Cook 10 to 12 minutes total, until golden and caramelised.
4. Deglaze and simmer (optional wine step)
- Add the wine (or 100ml extra stock) and bubble 2 to 3 minutes, scraping up the sticky bits. Add the stock (and any porcini liquid), bring to a simmer, and cook gently for 20 minutes.
5. Blend (or don't)
- Leave it chunky (fish out the thyme stalks), blitz half for body with texture, or blend smooth for a velouté.
6. Finish
- Off the boil, stir in the crème fraîche. Taste and season, it'll need more salt than you expect.
7. Serve
- Ladle into warmed bowls, scatter with parsley, and add garlic croûtons if you like. Serve with plenty of bread.
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
- 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.