The best recipe inspirations come from others. Not that I’ve never had a cream of mushroom soup, but it took a trip to Costa Rica for me to have a cream of mushroom soup that I couldn’t live without. I should explain.

It’s not that cream of mushroom is a staple in the Costa Rican diet, but I spent a week SCUBA diving off of the western coast of one of their national parks called Cocos Island, on a live aboard (dive) boat with a staff that served us some pretty tasty food. Among them, were a handful of delicious, filling puréed soups — one of my favorites! This mushroom version was one I knew I had to make when I got home. It was so much lighter than any I had before and it actually tasted like mushrooms — not cream.

I think I came pretty close to replicating the original, but you can cater it to your own liking by adding more cream or even varying the mushroom mix.


Cream of Mushroom Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Cream of mushroom soup is for dinner on a cold day
Simmer mushrooms until soft.
  • 1/4 cup salted butter
  • 16 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
  • 8 oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 3 large springs fresh thyme (more for garnish)
  • 4 cups vegetable stock
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • salt
  • fresh ground black pepper

Directions

  1. In a large pot, melt butter and add onion. Sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add mushrooms, then season with salt and pepper. Add thyme. Let simmer another 5-7 minutes. Remove a 1/4 cup of mushrooms and onions and set aside for garnish later.
  2. When mushrooms are tender and onions soft and translucent, add stock and bring to simmer for about 8-10 minutes.
  3. Transfer soup in small batches (2-3) to a high power blender and pulse 3-4 times. This should leave some texture to the soup. If you prefer a smoother soup, pulse until desired consistency reached. (An immersion blender can also be used.) Transfer finished contents to serving bowl.
  4. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with mushrooms slices and thyme. Serve hot.
  5. Enjoy!

Also try, Carrot coconut soup


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Author

Meghan is a full-time writer exploring the fun facts behind food. She lives a healthy lifestyle but lives for breakfast, dessert and anything with marinara. She’s thrown away just as many meals as she’s proud of.