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Mushroom Soup with Chervil Cream

Can you imagine Martha serving an ordinary soup at a Thanksgiving dinner? Exactly. But that’s not the only reason why I bookmarked this mushroom soup as soon as I saw its photo gleaming on page 146 of Martha Stewart Living’s November 2006 issue, where she entertained 20+ guests at her farm in Bedford, New York.

Did it ever happen to you, too? A recipe screaming “Cook me. Ladle me into a pretty bowl. Then paint me with chervil cream. Then sprinkle tiny croutons on top of me and dig in”. It happens to me a lot. Should I worry?

Mushroom

Dried porcini mushrooms were nowhere to be found in Istanbul, so I tweaked the original recipe a bit and used three different varieties of fresh mushrooms: White, Cremini and Shiitake. With the vegetable broth already stashed in my freezer, preparation took me only 15 minutes.

Croutons

I can list of a million soups that are perfect for winter months, but this is the one that I just couldn’t stop thinking about – for two and a half years! Hope you like it, too.

By the way, if you’d like to watch Martha & Sharon Stone cooking this soup live on TV, here’s the link.

MUSHROOM SOUP RECIPE

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

  • 1 pound white mushrooms
  • 3/4 pounds Cremini mushrooms
  • 1/2 pound Shiitake mushrooms
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1+ 1/4 cups whole milk
  • 25 (5 ounces) shallots, chopped finely
  • 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
  • 5 cups vegetable broth (or water)
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Chervil Cream:

  • 2 cups loosely packed fresh chervil
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • Coarse salt

Homemade Croutons:

  • 4 slices of organic rye bread
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Method

  1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft but not browned, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add potatoes; cook for 10 more minutes.
  3. Add mushrooms (no need to chop since everything will be blended, just halve the large ones to fit the pot), vegetable broth and cook covered for 10 minutes.
  4. Stir in cream and milk; cook for another 10 minutes.
  5. Working in 3 batches, puree soup in a food processor, making sure there are no remaining mushroom pieces; return to pan.
  6. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
  7. Add soy sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  8. Serve immediately, or refrigerate, covered, up to 3 days.
  9. To serve, divide among bowls; spoon about 2 teaspoons chervil cream into each center, and sprinkle with croutons.
  10. To prepare the chervil cream, bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add chervil, cook for 30 seconds and transfer to an ice bath with a slotted spoon. Process chervil with 1/4 cup cold water in a food processor until very finely chopped. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve and discard liquid. Whip cream in a bowl until thick but still pourable; stir in chervil and season with salt.
  11. To prepare homemade croutons, preheat your oven to 350F. Cut bread into small cubes, toss with melted butter and toast in the oven on a rimmed baking sheet covered with aluminum foil for 9-10 minutes.

January 29, 2009 · 28 Comments Categories: Soup, Vegetarian Tags: chervil, mushroom, mushroom soup

« How to Make a Flavorful Vegetable Broth
Creamy Braised Brussels Sprouts »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ghille

    January 29, 2009 at 10:00 am

    Mushroom soup is the only kind of soup I have ever driven over 25 miles to get! This sounds like comfort in a bowl!
    Your pictures are so tempting Fernando…need to go shop now…

    Reply
    • Cenk

      January 29, 2009 at 12:36 pm

      Ghille – Hope you like it!

      MsGourmet – Ha ha! I know! I am the king of procrastination.

      Reply
  2. MsGourmet

    January 29, 2009 at 12:22 pm

    LOL- i can’t believe it took you 2.5 years to make this!

    Reply
  3. thepinkpeppercorn

    January 29, 2009 at 12:56 pm

    Looks delicious!! Fabulous photos!

    Reply
  4. Jessie

    January 29, 2009 at 1:14 pm

    Oh my goodness, looks amazing!

    +Jessie
    a.k.a. The Hungry Mouse

    Reply
  5. Gera @ SweetsFoods

    January 29, 2009 at 2:17 pm

    Hi Cenk!

    Mushrooms and cream impossible to not turn out fabulous and full of flavor 🙂

    Reply
  6. Emre Kutlar

    January 29, 2009 at 3:03 pm

    I bought frozen Porcini from Metro a week ago. I guess that would help as well.

    Please let me know if you need Porcini in big amounts. I have couple of contacts. I believe we can find it.

    Reply
    • Cenk

      January 29, 2009 at 5:22 pm

      Emre – Thanks for the suggestion. I need to make a trip to Metro soon, so I’ll check them out. I really wouldn’t know what to do with Porcini if I were to buy them in bulk tough.. Thanks again.

      Reply
  7. Jen

    January 29, 2009 at 8:19 pm

    Looks delicious! And for another tidbit of unsolicited advice… I am not *positive* but I believe I saw the porcini mushrooms at Kolaylar in Arnavutkoy (though they were possibly shittake). In any case, the soup looks delicious. I LOVE those cremini mushrooms.

    Speaking of hard-to-find items, I was also really excited this week that our local market, Nezih, here in Ciftehavuzlar started making their own cheddar, which is quite delicious. I hadn’t seen it around town beforehand (aside from the Pinar slices). Though, I also hadn’t been to check in the gourmet shops… anyway, maybe someone is interested in some good real cheddar :o)

    Reply
    • Cenk

      January 31, 2009 at 9:45 pm

      Jen – Kolaylar is one of my favorite spots! Their produce is one of the best (very expensive tough). Thanks a lot for the tip on cheddar. Nezih is very close to my parents’ place so I’ll make sure to stop by next time.

      Reply
  8. latifa

    January 30, 2009 at 7:15 pm

    yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmy. my favourite soup!

    Reply
  9. Mrs Ergül

    January 31, 2009 at 5:14 am

    And I am already drooling! Look at those croutons! Thanks for sharing this recipe!

    Reply
  10. Heidi / Savory Tv

    February 2, 2009 at 12:09 am

    I don’t believe I have ever made a mushroom soup without the addition of wine, however this one looks tempting! Beautiful presentation as always!

    Reply
  11. Jen

    February 3, 2009 at 10:21 pm

    I just wanted to add since I happened to run into them randomly today… I was with a friend in Bebek today and went into the Santral Sarkuteri across from Starbucks and they had dried porcini, as well as dried morel mushrooms, whatever those are.

    Kolaylar is way too expensive 🙂 but sometimes they are good for a treat.

    Reply
  12. jo

    February 4, 2009 at 3:12 pm

    Great recipe and so full of flavours. I would simply love some of this for lunch with a piece of crusty bread.

    Reply
  13. iWalk

    February 6, 2009 at 6:40 am

    It’s a kind of my favorite soup, But I never cook it myself before!

    Great to learn from you, I will try!

    Reply
  14. Ayse Akalin

    February 6, 2009 at 9:57 am

    How much would it affect the taste if I made this soup using white mushrooms only? I am no gourmet and just would like to make descent food. Thanks. Ayse.

    Reply
    • Cenk

      February 6, 2009 at 11:31 am

      Ayse – I don’t think it’ll be the same, but you’ll still get to eat a great mushroom soup. Hope you like it.

      Reply
  15. mallory elise

    February 7, 2009 at 4:04 am

    paint a mushroom with chervil cream. ooooooooooooh what a brilliant sentence!

    Reply
  16. Cynthia

    February 8, 2009 at 1:16 am

    No, you should not worry and bask in the knowledge that there are many of us out there 🙂

    Reply
  17. RecipeGirl

    February 8, 2009 at 2:45 pm

    I did a *roasted* mushroom soup recently that was amazing. This one looks good too. I like the idea of the chervil cream.

    Reply
  18. Bren

    February 8, 2009 at 8:26 pm

    Great look mushrooms. And of course, a nice alternative to the usual mushroom soup they *all* serve! 🙂

    Reply
  19. Ayse Akalin

    February 11, 2009 at 5:16 pm

    Well I tried making it with regular mushrooms- and even sans the chervil cream and croutons- and as you said, it was still very good. cheers!

    Reply
  20. MariannaF

    February 23, 2009 at 6:51 pm

    mmm the only thing that makes me look fwd to winter is soup! especially ones like this!!! looks lovely, and i adore that spoon btw!!

    Reply
  21. Sean

    April 14, 2009 at 1:18 am

    Mushrooms and herbs are a fabulous match, in general. Last week I had a great mushroom soup with mint oil at a place in Palo Alto. What a revelation! Try it some time.

    Reply
  22. manon

    May 3, 2009 at 11:51 am

    This great recipe calls for heavy cream and whole milk – why milk, surely it is better with cream and plain water?
    Milk is sweetish. Also what function is there for the potatoes, will not soup be thick as it is?

    Reply
    • Cenk

      May 6, 2009 at 8:37 pm

      manon – It is just a matter of taste. You can use water instead of milk. As for potatoes, yes, the soup will not be as thick.

      Reply
  23. Ashley

    August 4, 2009 at 3:14 am

    This looks fantastic! What a lovely idea for mushroom soup 🙂

    Reply

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