From-Scratch Cream of Mushroom Soup

With chunks of fresh and dried mushrooms and sautéed leeks, this homemade cream of mushroom soup combines broth, heavy cream, and canned cannellini beans for a perfect, creamy consistency. A wonderful from-scratch soup that's ready to serve in about 35 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons (30 g) butter

• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 leek white and light green section halved lengthwise and sliced

• ½ cup (80 g) finely chopped onion

• 1 ¾ pounds mushrooms sliced. I used a mixture of white buttons, cremini and oyster, but you can use one of any variety

• Kosher salt

• 1 tablespoon (15 g) finely chopped garlic about 2 cloves

• 1 tablespoon (6 g) chopped fresh thyme

• 1 15-ounce can (425 g) cannellini beans drained

• ¼ cup (9 g) dried mushrooms such as porcini, shiitake or a mixture ground to a powder in a spice grinder (OPTIONAL) see notes

• 1 2-inch Parmesan rind OPTIONAL (see notes)

• 4 cups (1 l) chicken broth or vegetable broth

• ⅓ cup (80 ml) heavy cream

• 2 tablespoons (30 g) chopped parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the butter and oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. When the butter melts, add the leek and onion. Cook about 5 minutes, until softened.

   
   
   
   

2. Stir in the mushrooms and 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Cook, stirring, until the mushrooms soften and release their water. This should take 5-8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook a few seconds until fragrant. Add the cannellini beans, dried mushroom powder and Parmesan rind, if using, and pour in the stock.

   
   
   
   

3. Bring to a simmer, then adjust the heat so it doesn't boil. Simmer 15 minutes. Remove from the heat.

   
   
   
   

4. If you used a Parmesan rind, fish it out of the pot and discard. Scoop out 1/2 of the soup and puree in a blender until very smooth. You can use an immersion blender if you have one and puree right in the pot, leaving some chunky pieces of mushroom.

   
   
   
   

5. Stir in the cream and parsley. Serve warm in bowls.

NOTES

• This soup is still wonderful without the dried mushroom powder and Parmesan rind, so don't skip making this soup if you don't have one or the other!

• You can find packages of dried mushrooms in the produce or spice section of your grocery store. The cheese counter of stores like Whole Foods will often have Parmesan rinds you can buy. Or save the rind from a hunk of Parm from your fridge.

• Puree all the soup in batches, if you prefer it completely smooth or use a handheld blender to blend right in the pot.

• To freeze: Cool it completely, then pack into airtight freezer containers. Store up to 2 months in the freezer.