Five weekends and counting !

The weekends certainly seem to come round so quickly! For many this time of year does mean some of this ...

Purses and wallets are emptied ... feet get tired ...

 ... so why not have a nice bowl of this!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:
Serves Six
4 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp butter
2 pounds (900 g) cremini (or button) mushrooms, (roughly chopped or sliced 1/8-inch thick)
Small handful of shiitake mushrooms (chopped)
3/4 cup minced shallots (6 ounces, 170 g)
3 cloves garlic, minced (3 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
4 cups (1 litre) chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarian option)
1/2 (120 ml) cup double (heavy) cream
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (more or less to taste)

Method:
1. Heat olive oil on medium high heat in a 5-6 quart thick-bottomed pot. When the oil is hot, swirl in the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the mushrooms, stir to coat with the olive oil and butter. Cook the mushrooms on medium high heat until they are lightly browned and have released most of their water. Remove 1 cup of the cooked mushrooms from the pot and set aside (they will be added back in later).
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add the minced shallots and the garlic to the pot, stir to combine, cook for about a minute. Add the salt, dried tarragon, and the stock to the pot. Increase the heat to medium high, bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Using an immersion blender or working in batches with a standing blender, purée the soup until smooth. Then return to the pot. (If the soup is too thick for you, add some water or more stock to thin the soup to the desired level of thickness.)
4. Whisk the cream into the soup and add the black pepper. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the reserved cooked mushrooms.

This lovely recipe by Elise, with further links, can be seen here

Wishing you all a great weekend

All the best Jan