A Velvety Mushroom Soup for Your Monday
Hi everyone,
It's a treat to share a recipe on this long-weekend Monday. While I developed and enjoyed this soup over the winter holidays, now feels like the perfect moment to write about it. Many of us are craving simplicity and comfort in January, and the recipe delivers on both.
This Velvety Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup was inspired by my mom, who has always loved thick, puréed vegetable soups. I wanted to create a version that felt more elegant and vibrant than anything from a can, yet remained a practical building block for those nostalgic comfort food favorites, like holiday green bean casserole.
What makes this special is the streamlined technique, inspired by a Wil Yeung recipe featured in Food52 some time ago. You simply sauté the mushrooms with garlic, developing their flavor, then add them to a blender that already contains a rich, dairy-free base of blended cashews and vegetable broth.
Whereas other soup recipes of mine call for a separate addition of cashew cream, this one reduces the number of preparation steps and spares you two rounds of cleaning the blender.
The Recipe: Velvety Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup
Yields: 4 servings
The Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (plus extra for drizzling)
- 1 1/2 pounds cleaned and sliced or roughly chopped white button, cremini, or baby bella mushrooms (680 g)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt (a good pinch)
- A few turns freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups vegetable broth, divided (950 mL)
- 1/3 cup unroasted and unsalted cashews, soaked for 2 hours prior to preparation, then drained (45 g)
- Snipped chives (optional, for garnishing)
The Method
- Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Cover the pot and allow them to cook for 2 minutes, then uncover and stir them. Continue to cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring every minute or so, until the mushrooms begin to release their juices. Add the garlic to the pot and stir.
- Continue to sauté the mushrooms for another 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the mushrooms are reduced in size and fully tender.
- Place 1 cup (240ml) of broth into a powerful blender, along with the cashews. Blend for 1-2 minutes, or until the cashews are fully blended and you have a mixture that resembles a loose cashew cream.
- Add the sautéed mushrooms and remaining broth to the blender. Blend for another 1-2 minutes, or until you have a smooth, puréed soup.
- Pour the soup back into your soup pot over low heat. Once the soup is hot, taste it and adjust salt and pepper to your liking.
- Spoon the soup into bowls and garnish with a drizzle of extra olive oil and/or some snipped chives. Serve.
A Few Tips
- The "Steam-Sauté": Don't skip the first two minutes of cooking the mushrooms with the lid on the pot; this helps them to release their liquids quickly.
- Choosing Mushrooms: Cremini or white button mushrooms are my go-to for this recipe, but feel free to add any mix of portobello, shiitake, oyster, or trumpet mushrooms.
- Storage & Freezing: The soup keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days. I don't recommend freezing it, as the texture tends to separate once defrosted.
For more details, including tips on how to adjust the recipe for an immersion blender, you can read the full post on the blog. I hope the soup will bring you comfort and ease at some point this winter!
xo,
Gena
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