Cream of giant shiitake mushroom soup

Came across some giant shiitake mushrooms in an organic vegetable shop. Turned out they make a divine cream of mushroom soup.

This is not the only cream of mushroom soup recipe on delectabilia. This recipe is simpler, and arguably has a more interesting flavour. However, it relies on these very special mushrooms which may not (yet) be easy to find in your locality. By “giant” I mean about 10cm diameter.

While their skin is the typical brown of the smaller shiitake mushrooms, there is a lot more white flesh inside. Hence the colour of this soup is nearly while, yet it has a distinct but mellow mushroom flavour. I served this to quite a diverse group and it was a hit across cultures and ages.

Cream of giant shiitake mushroom soup

Servings: 6 people

Author: Steve Paris

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 20 g unsalted butter
• 1 onion
• 5 cloves garlic
• 200 g fresh giant shiitake mushrooms Ideally organically grown
• 10 sprigs fresh thyme Just a suggestion. More or less if you like
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock or water
• 1/2 cup cooking cream
• 2 tsp mustard
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 6 tsp truffle infused oil

Instructions

• Bring a large saucepan to a medium heat and add the olive oil and butter.
• When the butter has melted, add the onion to the saucepan and sauté until softened.
• Add the garlic, mushrooms, and sprigs of thyme. Sauté until the mushrooms have expelled their moisture and it has evaporated.
• Remove the thyme stalks, leaving behind as many leaves as possible. Most of them would have detached during the cooking.
• Add the flour to the pan and stir into the mushrooms. It will form a paste with the olive oil and butter.
• Continue cooking until the paste is golden brown.
• Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly.
• Slowly add the stock or water.
• Add the mustard, salt, and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and add the cream.
• Use an immersion blender to blend until smooth, then return to a low heat.
• Add the grated parmesan and stir in until combined.
• If necessary, add more vegetable stock, water, or milk to bring to a suitable soup consistency.
• Serve each bowl with a tsp of truffle infused oil drizzled onto the soup.