Puréed Mushroom Soup

This recipe can certainly be made to suit vegetarian/vegan or omnivore tastes.

Depending on how your feeling (as well as personal ethics, morals, religion, personal sacrifice, or health reasons) on a day-to-day or lifetime basis, I suppose... or whatever you happen to have handy at the time...

Using a variety of mushrooms (even just two types) will give you additional depth of flavor, but no matter what, the finished soup really has a great, earthy, mushroom-y taste.

Plus, it can be gluten-free, if you use a broth that's gluten-free (remember that the broth must be labeled as such).

One great thing is that you don't need to worry about cleaning out the food processor until you're completely done with the recipe. The mushrooms are ground up, the onion pulverized, and the potato chopped finely. In the end the whole mixture is re-blended again to make sure it's all smooth and consistent in texture.

If you want it a little more rich, use 7 cups of broth instead of 8. Prior to serving, add a cup of heavy cream and stir into the soup, cooking gently a couple minutes until heated through.

I apologize for the lack of photos- sometimes when I get busy with several things at once and I'm on a roll, it's difficult to remember to pick up the camera.

But, it is a fairly simple soup...

Puréed Mushroom Soup

Adapted from Bill's Food by Bill Granger

serves 8-10

2-2 1/4 lb. (32-36 oz.) mushrooms, well cleaned

1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 T (2 oz.) butter

2 T olive oil

1 t kosher salt

1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

8 c vegetable broth or chicken stock

1 c white wine

1 lb. potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

generous 1 1/2 T fresh oregano, chopped

sour cream or crème fraîche and parsley for garnish (optional- but they do add some nice flavor and color)

Finely chop the mushrooms in the bowl of a food processor using the pulse action until finely chopped. Set aside. Repeat with the onion and place the onion in the same bowl as the mushrooms.

In a large pot, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped mushrooms and onion, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While the mushroom mixture cooks, finely chop the potato in the food processor and set aside.

When the mushroom mixture has cooked and softened, add the potato pieces, white wine, oregano, and stock the the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer over low heat 30 minutes. Let cool slightly, and purée the soup in batches using a food processor or immersion blender.

Return the soup to the pot and heat and stir gently 5 minutes so the flavors meld. Taste for seasonings and adjust as necessary.

Stir again, ladle the soup into bowls, and garnish as desired.