So I had a craving for mushroom soup for a week before I made this. However, unlike most cream of mushroom soups that are overly heavy, I wanted something that was both light and creamy.
This is where lemon is my best friend. I remembered a recipe I did a few months back for the Indiana Daily Student. I wrote a recipe on quick chicken pot pie. My feature was a homemade filling made entirely from scratch. I used lemon juice to cut the fattiness of the cream sauce.
This is the exact same technique I used here. I also wanted the soup to have a chunkiness to it, so I added some leftover butternut squash to add some texture and a slight sweetness.
Ditch the canned soup and give this a shot. It will be worth your while.
Ingredients
- 2 cups finely chopped mushrooms
- 1 cup finely shopped butternut squash, you can sub in sweet potato or carrots (or both) if you so choose
- 1/2 small red onion
- juice of half a lemon
- zest of half a lemon
- 1 sprig rosemary, leaves only, finely chopped
- 2 tbs butter, sub out for duck fat if you are feeling fancy (I was)
- 6 tbs flour
- 4 cups water or vegetable broth
- 3/4 cup cream
- salt and pepper to taste
Step 1: Melt the 2 tbs of butter in a large saucepan heated on high. When it begins to bubble, add the onion. Cook until the onion is translucent and aromatic. Add the mushrooms and rosemary. Cook until the mushrooms have wilted and reduced in size. Reduce the heat to medium high.
Step 2: Add the butternut squash, stir well and then cover with a lid. Cook until the squash is tender and splits easily with a fork. Add water or white wine to the pan if the vegetables begin to dry out while cooking. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper.
Step 3: Pour the flour into the pan with the vegetables, mix well. Cook a minute or two to get rid of the raw flour taste. Gradually, pour in the four cups of water one cup at a time while stirring constantly. Add the lemon juice. Cook until the soup thickens, it will take a bit of time for the grains of flour to absorb the liquid.
Step 4: Reduce heat to low and let the soup simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
The Glutton Diaries 