I love mushrooms and use them in so many ways. Yesterday I made some garlicky Quick Sauteed Mushrooms that I use in pies and risotto and on pizzas.

At our house its Soup Saturday and so today I made some lovely mushroom soup and use the sauteed mushrooms for garnish. With a little preparation and care mushroom soup is so quick and easy to make.

I chose to pre-steam the potato cubes as I only had the waxy kind, to ensure they were fully tender and ready to put through the sieve or process with an immersion stick blender. Choosing a floury potato that breaks down will add to the creaminess of the soup. The texture is at your preference. As I like a little texture I use the blender but if you like your soup really creamy you can press the processed vegetables through a final step through a sieve.

Using homemade chicken or vegetable stock will really lift the soup and using a little dry white wine at the beginning adds a little zing to the flavour, much as it does in a risotto where the classic olive oil, butter and wine are the base for the flavour. The mild flavour of leek and a good dusting of freshly ground black pepper and some salt are all that is needed.

Taking the trouble to use really good ingredients will make all the difference to your soup. Whether previously made or made on the day while the soup is cooking, the 3 minute Quick Sauteed Mushrooms are a delicious addition as a garnish or more added to the soup for texture. Served with some crusty sourdough bread and a green salad, mushroom soup is perfect for lunch.

I hope you will try it and enjoy it too

Delicious Mushroom soup

Ingredients:

Mushroom Soup:

• 500 g Cup mushrooms or any mushrooms of your choice for the soup
• 850 g starchy potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
• 1 Leek, washed and sliced thinly
• 1L Homemade chicken stock or other stock
• 125 ml Dry white wine
• 1Tblsp of Olive oil
• 1 knob of butter
• Freshly ground pepper and salt

Quick Sauteed Mushrooms:

• 8 large cup mushrooms to sautee for garnish
• 1 large clove of garlic, peeled, cut in half and crushed
• 3-4 stems of parsley, washed and chopped
• 1 Tblsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Small knob of butter

Method:

1. Steam the potato cubes for 20 minutes until they are tender and set them aside

2. Place olive oil and a knob of butter into a heavy based pan over a medium heat

3. When the butter stops foaming add the sliced leek, stir to coat.

4. Pour in white wine, bring to boil and then lower heat and simmer for 8 minutes or until tender

5. Add the sliced mushrooms, stir through and cook for 5 minutes till they have softened

6. Add in the cooked potato cubes and stir through everything

7. Pour in the hot stock and stir everything through

8. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper

9. Bring to the boil and then lower to simmer, covered, cooking for for 25-30 minutes

10. Meanwhile, prepare the extra mushrooms for garnishing the soup

11. In a shallow fry pan add 1 Tblsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a small knob of butter

12. when the butter foams add the crushed clove of garlic and cook gently for a minute or two stirring till the garlic becomes lightly golden, so that it does not burn

13. Set a timer for 3 minutes

14. Put the mushrooms and chopped parsley, in a single layer, into the saucepan and start the timer.

15. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper

16. Stir the mushrooms around the pan to cover them with the oil and infuse with the flavour of garlic

17. Most important, stop when the three minutes are up, set aside the cooked mushrooms in a single layer on a plate to cool. These will be used as a garnish in the finished soup

18. After the cooking time is up, and using a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to large jug with some of the cooking stock and blend with an immersion stick blender.

19. Make the soup as creamy as you prefer. For a really creamy soup pass the blended vegetables further through a sieve. Add the liquid to the vegetables gradually to make the soup to a texture and thickness that you desire

20. Garnish your soup with some of the cooked mushrooms you have set aside or make a really rich soup by stirring in a good dollop of the sauteed mushrooms

21. Serve your mushroom soup with some crusty sourdough bread and a green salad

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