Soup Series: Mushroom Broth with a Fresh Herb Cream Crust

After a long absence we finally see the return of the Soup Series! Some of you may remember seeing this recipe used at our Dinner for 6, Cook Show & Tell a few months back. I’d originally planned on saving this recipe for our French dinner but got so excited and ended up using it at the first dinner party we planned. I recently stumbled across the recipe again and remembering how much I enjoyed making and eating this soup I felt the need to share.

The vast majority of mushroom soups I’ve consumed have been nasty from the can style Creamed Mushroom soups which hit the spot at the time but are nothing special to remember. This mushroom soup is described as a broth and it is very much so, 600g of mixed mushrooms as well as a layer of delicately toasted whipped cream mixed with parsley make this one of the best soups I’ve ever tasted. The soup requires a litre of chicken stock which I also made up fresh on the night, this effectively doubled my cooking time but I always always believe it makes the difference at the end.

Apologies for the reused photos, cooking on the night was rather hectic and I wasn’t able to get many shots of the preparation.

Recipe: Mushroom Broth with a Fresh Herb Cream Crust

Recipe Adapted from French by Damien Pignolet

Soup Broth

• 100g unsalted butter
• 2 eschalots, finely diced
• 1 small clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons finely diced celery
• 600g mixed mushrooms (I used a mixture of portobello, shiitake and button)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 60ml dry white wine
• 1 litre of chicken stock
• Bouquet garni (parsley stalks, bay leaf, thyme, lemon zest all tied together with string)

Fresh Herb Cream

• 1 bunch chives, finely chopped
• 2 cups flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 4 large mint leaves
• 3 egg yolks
• 150ml creme fraiche
• 200ml thickened cream

Serves 6

1. Heat the butter and sweat the eschalots, garlic and celery in a a large saucepan without colouring them for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper then cover the pan, let it sweat for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
2. Add the wine and let it simmer for a few minutes before adding in the stock. Bring to a skim and skim the impurities before adding the bouquet garni and simmering for 20 minutes. Feel free to season with nutmeg to your tastes.
3. For the herb cream, dip the herbs into boiling salted water and cook for 3 minutes, drain and press out the water into the mushroom broth.
4. Chop the herbs very finely. Very finely! Larger chunks will end up getting stuck in your teeth which is not fun. Beat the egg yokes well then in a separate bowl whip the creams to soft peaks and mix in the yolks and herbs, season to taste.

To assemble, pre-heat your grill and divide the broth into equal portions. Distribute the herb cream evenly on top, don’t worry to much as the cream mixture floats easily on top of the broth. Place the bowls under the grills and allow them to toast until the cream is slightly golden with a delicate crust. Watch your bowls carefully as under the right heat they will brown immediately!

My only regret is not getting a shot of the soup after we broke through the crust! The broth has a great intense flavour and the cream provides a great counterpoint to the salt.

7 Comments

1. Trissa

   August 18, 2009

   

   Damien Pignolet is an excellent chef – I was lucky enough to have a class that was taught by him and he was a lovely person. I am sure this is a great recipe – I love mushroom soup so I have to try this one day. Thanks for sharing.
   .-= Trissa´s last blog ..El Comedor Recipe : Brittle Torte =-.

   Reply
2. shez

   August 18, 2009

   

   Oh dear. And here I was thinking that maybe I could try shift some of the post-holiday / post-winter weight by having soup for lunch and dinner instead of my normal gigantic meals… Not sure this one would quite work (though I’d have a fantastic time eating it and convincing myself that it was “good cream”) Looks delicious!
   .-= shez´s last blog ..miss chu (part 2) =-.

   Reply
3. Steph

   August 18, 2009

   

   Oh yum, that herb cream crust is such a great idea! I still have your etch sweetcorn soup post bookmarked to try but now I want to try this one too!
   .-= Steph´s last blog ..Cupcake Day for the RSPCA – Pupcakes! =-.

   Reply
4. Simon

   August 18, 2009

   

   Unless your crap at making stock, it usually makes a HUGE difference to the end soup. That is, if you can be bothered putting in the effort to make it

   I like how it looks like a soup brulee.
   .-= Simon´s last blog ..Plus ça Change… – Soft Launch of theheartoffood.com =-.

   Reply
5. Moya

   August 18, 2009

   

   soup brulee hmmmmm, love the effect! Sort of a second cousin to the cheese on toast on the french onion soup. Gotta try this one, great photos!
   .-= Moya´s last blog ..CAFE SPLAT! Queenscliff =-.

   Reply
6. Nate

   August 19, 2009

   

   Your herb cream crust sounds absolutely divine!

   Canned cream of mushroom soup has its uses but it cannot touch your homemade version. Good on ya!
   .-= Nate´s last blog ..Foodie Excursion to Ijok for Beggar’s Delights =-.

   Reply
7. FFichiban

   August 19, 2009

   

   I love the look and sound of that herb crust mmmmm wonder if you could work some cheese into it tho hee hee
   .-= FFichiban´s last blog ..Best Friend – Sydney CBD, Sydney =-.

   Reply

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