Paris Mushroom Soup from Dorie Greenspan
Paris Mushroom Soup blends mushrooms with broth and wine for a rich, satisfying version that is topped with creme fraiche and sauteed mushrooms.
Late yesterday afternoon I saw someone tweet about this Paris Mushroom Soup that she was making from Dorie Greenspan’s book ‘Around My French Table’ (pp 72-73), and sure enough it was for French Fridays with Dorie and I was inspired.
Inspired not only because I was hungry after being on the go all day without lunch but it helped that I had fresh mushrooms in the fridge and anticipated I would have the ingredients for a soup.
Except for parsley I did have everything, including the book, and within minutes I had chopped onions and garlic sizzling in a pot.
This dish was so simple; sauteed onions, garlic, and mushrooms combined with white wine, rosemary and chicken broth.
Simple and simply divine. I might normally not have rosemary readily available but I’ve had great success with a small rosemary ‘tree’ I bought at Whole Foods for the holidays.
It thrives in the window box above my kitchen sink and is growing like crazy so I was delighted to have a recipe for mushroom soup using one of my favorite herbs,
Dorie suggests serving the soup as they do at the Paris bistro, Les Papilles, on top of a salad comprised of raw mushrooms, chives, parsley, salt, pepper and then finishing with dollop of crème fraîche on top.
I didn’t do the salad, opting instead to top the soup with some quickly sautèed mushrooms and in lieu of crème fraîche used sour cream that I had on hand.
An amazing mouthful of flavor yet filled with very little fat; it felt like a great soup to start the New Year with when so many of us want to get ourselves back into an après holiday routine with lighter and healthier fare.
One thing I did during cooking that put a different spin on Dorie’s recipe was to add a piece of rind from the last piece of Parmesan that I had purchased.
I can’t stand to pitch that hard piece of cheese that I cut off before using Parmesan so I save those pieces in a container that I store in the freezer.
I’ve found that it’s a great addition to soups, sauces and stews so I put a nice chunk in while the broth simmered and though subtle we loved the addition!
Dorie’s recipe called for blending the mushrooms with an immersion blender but I scooped some out of the pan before I did that; I wanted to use a small amount for garnish with the crème fraîche.
It was the perfect instrument with the end result not being a totally smooth consistency but having some substance to the mouth-feel.
From thought to plate…30 minutes, and it was simply FANTASTIC!
Paris Mushroom Soup from Dorie Greenspan
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 & ½ large onions coarsely chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves coarsely chopped
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper
- 1 &1/2 pounds white mushrooms trimmed, sliced
- 2 parsley sprigs
- 1 rosemary sprig
- ⅓ cup dry white wine
- 6 cups chicken broth or water
- ½ cup Crème Fraîche sour cream or yogurt, optional
Instructions
- Put the butter in a Dutch oven or soup pot over low heat. Add onions, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are soft, 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and remaining tablespoon of the butter.
- Raise the heat to medium. Cook, stirring, until the mushrooms release their liquid, about 3 minutes. Increase the heat to high; cook until almost all the liquid evaporates. Set aside some mushrooms for garnish.
- Pour in the wine; let boil until almost evaporated.
- Add the broth and herbs; heat to a boil. Lower the heat; cover the pot almost completely. Simmer 20 minutes. Discard the rosemary sprig.
- Puree the soup in small batches in a blender or food processor until smooth. Taste for salt and white pepper. Pour the soup back into the pot; heat over low heat until hot. Serve garnished with mushrooms and crème fraîche..
