I’ve had a bit of breathing space from work and i’ve finally got myself back in the kitchen for long enough to do a spot of batch cooking. The fridge was totally out of control with surplus amounts of random vegetables and Greek yogurt from the various recipe work i’ve been doing.
It felt good to use up two punnets of mushrooms for this soup, which filled the house with the most divine earthy aromas that made for a warm welcome to whoever came through the door.
The children are not fans of the shroom. I wasn’t either as a child. I thought they were slimy and suspicious – especially when my mum ate them on toast for her lunch. But of course now, mushrooms on toast sounds like a rather brilliant idea, as are mushroom and halloumi burgers – a big favourite with the firefighter.
This soup is super easy to make, can easily be luxed up with a dash of sherry and creme fraiche if you’re feeling fancy, or stick to the recipe and stay frugal if you’re trying to lose the lard before the summer holidays.
There’s bags of flavour from the garlic and chives, and the mushrooms have such a lovely deep quality, especially if you leave the soup to cool overnight and blitz it up the next day. The flavours really seem to intensify.
Healthy Mushroom Soup
Makes 5 portions
INGREDIENTS
1 red onion, finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
800g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp chives, finely chopped
1 litre vegetable stock
soy sauce, to taste
METHOD
1. Spray the bottom of a large lidded pan with some fry light or a little olive oil, chuck in the sliced onion and cook on a low heat for five minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute then stir in the mushrooms and chives.
2. Pour over the stock then cover with a lid and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Take off the heat and allow to cool. With a slotted spoon take out half of the mushrooms and blitz the rest in a blender with a few good glugs of soy sauce and black pepper to taste.
3. Add the mushrooms back in and either re-heat and serve or pour into containers and store in the fridge/freezer. Serve with a swirl of low fat creme fraiche and a scattering of chopped chives.
I’m entering this vegetarian friendly recipe into Extra Veg, Helen and Michelle‘s event this month hosted by Allotment 2 Kitchen
The soup is also calling in at Family Foodies which has a theme of Cheap & Cheerful this month hosted by Vanesther at Bangers & Mash
And finally, because it’s pretty frugal and uses up a surplus of veg about to go out of date, i’m also entering this recipe into Camilla and Helen’s Credit Crunch Munch, hosted this month by Gingey Bites.
I love mushroom soup and your addition of chives and soy sauce sounds just wonderfu! Thank you for entering Credit Crunch Munch:-)
Thanks Camilla – looking forward to seeing all the other recipes for some inspiration 🙂
this looks wonderful – very nourishing and comforting. Yay to you for all the commissions and work, sounds like you are keeping it together on the family and food front so very well with all this lovely batch cooking 🙂
Thanks so much Nazima… keeping it together by the string of my teeth…
Love the look of your soup. My children aren’t big fans of shrooms either but I think I might just have to try them with this soup – obviously I won’t tell them what’s in it until afterwards… Great entry for the Family Foodies challenge. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks vanesther! My kids would be instantly suspicious of the soup if it wasn’t tinned tomato!
It looks wonderful and I do love mushrooms and mushroom soup. Like you I didn’t like them as a child, but I can’t remember my mum particularly using them in recipes. I just remember her adding them raw to salads.
It’s weird how you can go from despising something to loving it! Mushrooms are amazing 🙂
I have never made mushroom soup. Strange as I love the mushroom risotto from Pret. I have some mushrooms growing from a pack I got for my anniversary. I know. Hubby is really baaaad at gifts. But I might try soup with them when they come up! Thanks for the inspiration
I’d never made it before either – but that was a mistake as it’s so healthy and so tasty! Just what I need at the mo 🙂
Ha ha shrooms are slimy and suspicious! Classic line – lots of nice foodie events entered here, too.
Mushrooms were evil as far as I was concerned 😉
I cannot remember the last time I made a mushroom soup, but I remember enjoying it when I did. This one really looks good, and i know my husband would love it too. Thank you for sharing with Eat Your Veg and I am so glad you got that bug sorted out!
Thanks so much Shaheen!
I love mushrooms, hubby and one of the kids don’t though. I’ll definitely give this a go and freeze some for my lunches 🙂
Thanks Michelle – it’s def a good one for the freezer! Stock up before bubs arrives….
Mushroom soup, it has always been a mouth watering dish for me. I like it a lot, soy sauce sounds a good addition to the recipe. I will definitely try this.
Thanks Chandler, the soy really works with the mushroom 🙂
Kids and mushrooms are funny! I hated them as a child but love them now, Izzy will pick suspiciously over a plate of food that she suspects might contain the horrible things! Your soup looks fab and perfect for keeping a batch of in the freezer.
Thanks Sian… yes my kids are so suspicious of anything I cook… I always get thoroughly questioned about what’s for tea, what did I put in it, how did I make it etc… you’d think I was trying to poison them at times!!!!
Great to hear about your commissions! I had always been put off by mushroom soup because of the copious amounts of cream in it (I am now quite aware of the fat since I have a toddler, for whom I do cook with a dash of cream) but I really like your suggestions for a leaner soup, especially the soy sauce x
Thanks Deena – it’s amazing how creamy it tastes!
What? Where’s the cream?!? Oh, never mind me, you’re being a right role model by posting this healthy recipe. Mind you, adding the dash of sherry and creme fraiche sounds divine!
Hehe thanks Michelle. It’s healthy but so much flavour!