Wild Mushroom & Lemon Thyme Soup

Cook Time: ~30 Minutes

Mushroom soup is often thick, heavy, and overtly creamy. My take on this classic soup is a touch more delicate; utilising the exquisite flavours of wild mushrooms and a welcome spritz of citrus with lemon zest and lemon thyme. Garnished with chopped parsley, extra virgin olive oil and single cream.

Serves: 4-6

Time: ~30 Minutes

Information - What you require

Serving Size of 4-6 Individuals

Ingredients

• Mixed wild mushrooms (~500g)

• Chicken or Vegetable stock (~800ml)

• Single cream (~100ml)

• 4x cloves of garlic

• 2x small white onions

• One lemon

• A knob of butter

• Bunch of flatleaf parsley

• Bunch of lemon thyme

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Ground black pepper & salt

---

Optional Ingredients & Notes

• Stock: You may use vegetable stock as a replacement for chicken stock if you want to make this dish vegetarian or simply prefer the taste.

• Thyme: If you can’t find lemon thyme, regular thyme will suffice.

• Mushrooms: On this occasion, I utilise a mixture of Oyster, King Oyster, and Shitake mushrooms but the point is to make use of non-generic mushrooms and utilise mushrooms with more complex flavours and textures. Chanterelle, Beech, Maitake, and Enoki would also be great, and you can find these varieties in most stores either individually or sold in a mixed punnet.

---

Equipment

• One large pot

• Hand blender

• Cheese grater

Mise En Place - Food preparation

Slice your mushrooms, chop your onions, and thinly slice your garlic. Zest an entire lemon. Take a big handful of parsley leaves and chop them finely. Take a generous number of thyme sprigs (15-20) and chop them thinly (stalks and leaves). It’s hard to overdo it on the herbs, so don’t worry about precise measurements. You can always add more later if you feel it needs it.

Cooking Process

First, add about a tablespoon of olive oil to a medium-heat pot alongside a generous knob of butter. Once the pair have melted into each other, throw in your chopped white onions with a pinch of salt and ground black pepper. Allow the onions to cook softly for 6-7 minutes. The goal here is to allow the onions to soften in the butter and oil, not brown them, so stir them regularly. They should become highly aromatic, giving off a sweet scent. Following that, throw in your garlic and cook for a further 1-2 minutes.

Next, introduce your mushrooms, parsley, and thyme and mix everything together well. Continue cooking (and stirring) until the mushrooms become soft and browned. This should take 6-8 minutes. Don’t be afraid to add more butter if you feel the pot becomes dry. Once browned, remove a few of the mushrooms and set aside for garnishing.

Introducing the mushrooms (left) → mushrooms have browned (right)

Add 800ml of stock (chicken or vegetable) to the pot, bring to a simmer and then let cook for ~15 minutes. If you are feeling adventurous, you might like to add a small handful of dried wild mushrooms to the pot alongside your stock. They tend to pack a potent mushroom flavour that kicks things up a few notches.

Once your soup has been simmering for 15 minutes turn off the heat, add lemon zest and single cream, and blend until smooth. I personally add 100ml of single cream, but I suggest adding 50ml first, tasting the soup after blending and deciding if you want more. Once the soup is blended, taste, and add a generous amount of salt and black pepper as per your own tastes.

To serve, sprinkle over ground black pepper, chopped parsley leaves, the mushrooms you put aside for garnish, and drizzle over extra virgin olive oil and single cream.

If you do attempt this dish, please let me know how it goes, and if you variate the recipe in any way. Also, this newsletter relies upon word of mouth, so if you feel you know someone who would enjoy this publication please share it.

Thanks for reading,

Conor