There’s no crowd-pleaser like a warming bowl of soup. The extent of the different styles and flavours of soups are endless and I think most of us have put our own unique twist on a soup recipe at some point before. I absolutely love the combination of garlic, mushrooms and butter which makes this a very frequent creation of mine and it goes stunningly well with some buttered sourdough bread. This is the kind of recipe that triggers my memory of a lazy day in front of a hot fire in the winter, wearing a cosy jumper and having loved ones around while Christmas music plays softly in the background; the kind of moment I wish I could pause forever.
Ingredients:
- Butter/sunflower spread, 3 heaped tbsps
- Garlic clove, 4
- Medium onion, 1, chopped
- Mushrooms, 1 punnet or 18 large
- Crème fraîche, 200 g, (I used Glenisk)
- Black pepper, 1 tbsp
- Salt, 1 tspn
- Apple cider vinegar, 2 tbsps
- Fresh parsley, 1 handful
- Fresh veg stock, ¾ of a litre
Prep time: 30 mins
Serves: 3
Kcal: 278 per serving
This recipe is vegetarian and can be made vegan by replacing the dairy cream with a vegan alternative.
Method:
- Prepare your own vegetable stock in advance or stir a vegetable stock cube well into ¾ of a litre of boiling water.
- Chop up each mushroom into threes and finely chop the garlic cloves and onion.
- Place a large pan over medium heat. Add the butter to the pan and once it has melted fully, add the chopped garlic, onions and mushrooms. Stir well for 10 mins, or until the mushrooms have wilted to half of their sizes.
- Place a medium-sized pot over low heat. Add the veg stock, followed by the garlic, onion, and mushroom mixture (keep 2 tbsps of the mushrooms aside), crème fraîche, pepper, salt, apple cider vinegar and fresh parsley. Bring the mixture to the boil, which takes around 10 mins.
- Blend the mixture using a hand blender into a smooth, creamy consistency.
- Divide the soup out into 3 bowls and top them with a sprinkle of unblended mushrooms, a few parsley leaves and a dollop of fresh cream if you like.
Science 101:
Eating mushrooms can help with the digestion of the other foods we eat; they contain Vitamins B2 and B5 which are important in the breaking down of and converting of fats, carbs and proteins into energy that is used by our bodies.
The Food Anatomist 