A wonderful soup for a warming winter dinner. See notes below to make it vegan if you wish. It’s easily made gluten free by using a flour substitute.

Recipe by Catherine Pla, adapted from Ina Garten

Serves 6

1 lb mixed mushrooms, shiitake, portobello, cremini, porcini
1 T olive oil
6 T unsalted butter, divided
1 clove garlic, rough chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme and 1 t minced thyme leaves, divided
2 leeks, cleaned and chopped
1⁄4 c all-purpose flour
1⁄4 c dry sherry
3⁄4 c dry white wine
1⁄2 c heavy cream
1 c whole milk
1⁄4 c minced parsley

Clean the mushrooms and cut off the stems. Most mushrooms you buy are pretty clean. Common wisdom is not to wash your mushrooms in water, however, I do if they’re really dirty. Don’t soak them, just quickly rinse. Dry on paper towels and remove any bad/bruised parts. Coarsely chop the stems and slice the mushroom caps 1⁄4” thick. Set aside.

To make the mushroom stock*, heat the oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large soup pot. Add the chopped mushroom stems, garlic, onion, celery, carrot, thyme sprigs, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grindings of black pepper and sauté on medium heat for about 10 minutes, until vegetables have softened. Add 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Strain, discarding aromatics and reserving the liquid. You should have about 4 1⁄2 cups.

In the same pot, heat the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter and begin sautéing the leeks over low heat. Don’t let them brown. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook on medium-low until beginning to brown. Add the flour, stirring, and cook for a minute. Add the sherry and white wine and cook for another minute, scraping the bottom of the pot for any browned bits. Add the mushroom stock, minced thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the heavy cream and milk, half the chopped parsley and heat but once the cream/milk has been added, do not boil. Taste for seasoning adding salt and pepper if needed.

Garnish with remaining parsley.

*If you're in a hurry and want to skip making the mushroom stock, you can use 4 cups pre-made chicken or vegetable stock in the recipe. However, the rich mushroom flavor is more intense if you make the stock.

NOTE: To make the soup vegan, replace butter with oil, and heavy cream and milk with coconut cream and coconut milk.

Cream of Mushroom Soup