I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with mushroom soup. I can’t bear those gloopy tins of ‘Cream of Mushroom’ soup, thickened with too much cornflour and tasting more of long-life cream than mushroom, with dubious floating chunks which may or may not have begun their life as a mushroom. But a really deep, earthy homemade mushroom soup with suitably garlicky bread to dunk in is a proper treat, and here I’ve even splashed in some sherry to make this a soup showstopper.
This could just as easily be a dinner party starter or a simple weeknight supper. The amount of sherry you need to add really depends on a) how alcoholic you like your soup (!), and b) whether you’re using a sweet or dry sherry. Add 2-3 tbsp first, mix well then taste and keep adding until you’re happy. You should be able to taste it, but don’t let it overpower the mushroom-y flavour from those lovely dried porcini, which must be the star of the show.
This is actually a vegan soup, with not a hint of cream required for a luxuriously silky texture. The trick to this is dividing the soup into two and blitzing half in a blender, then returning it to the pan, (and yes, I used my Froothie Optimum 9200A, of course, for the smoothest possible soup – read more here). The result is a thickened and silky soup but with plenty of deliciously juicy mushroom chunks to scoop up with your chewy garlic bruschetta croutons.
If you want to serve this as a lunch or supper in its own right, you could make it more filling and substantial by throwing in a handful of pearl barley, puy lentils or even orzo pasta, then simmering until cooked through.
- 25 g dried porcini mushrooms
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
- 500 g fresh mushrooms I used a mixture of chestnut and flat-cap
- 500 ml vegetable stock
- 1 handful fresh baby spinach
- 60 ml 4 tbsp sherry (check it is vegan)
- half a ciabatta loaf
- garlic oil or olive oil and a garlic clove
- handful fresh parsley finely chopped
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Pour 400ml boiling water into a jug and add the porcini mushrooms. Set aside to soak for 10-15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
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Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and add the onion. Cook over a low heat for 3-4 minutes until softened, then add the garlic.
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Chop the fresh mushrooms into small pieces, and add to the pan. Cook until they have released their liquid - around 5 minutes.
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Strain or sieve the jug of porcini mushrooms into the pan, so the liquid goes into the saucepan and the mushrooms are reserved in your sieve. Chop the mushrooms finely, and add them to the pan.
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Add the stock to the pan, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
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Remove from the heat, then ladle half the soup into a blender or food processor, add the spinach and blitz until smooth and thick. Return this to the pan with the rest of the soup and stir to combine. Taste the soup and season well with salt and pepper to your own taste. Add the sherry one tablespoon at a time, tasting in between until you are happy with the flavour.
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To make the garlic bruschetta croutons, simply slice the ciabatta thinly, drizzle with a little garlic oil (or rub the surface of the bread with the cut side of half a garlic clove, then drizzle with olive oil). Place on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 4-5 minutes, turning halfway through, until golden brown.
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Sprinkle both the soup and bruschetta croutons with parsley, and serve immediately.
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There are plenty of similarly quick and easy recipes in my new book, ‘Vegan in 15‘*. Hop over to Amazon for a look. Thanks for your support!
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Here’s a few more mushroom soup recipes from blogging friends:
- Laura’s Jerusalem Artichoke, Chestnut & Mushroom Soup from How to Cook Good Food
- Helen’s Broccoli Mushroom Soup with Noodles & Coconut from Family Friends Food
- Nanya’s Mushroom Soup for the 5:2 Diet from Citrus Spice and all Things Nice
- Dannii’s Creamy Mushroom & Wild Rice Soup from Hungry Healthy Happy
- My Hot ‘n’ Sour Mushroom & Noodle Soup from The Veg Space
For more soup inspiration take a look at my Pinterest Board Soups: Vegetarian & Vegan:
Follow Kate Ford | The Veg Space’s board Soups: Vegetarian and Vegan on Pinterest.
I’m linking this recipe up with Jac’s Meat Free Mondays challenge over at Tinned Tomatoes
Also with Emily’s Recipe of the Week challenge at A Mummy Too
And finally with Extra Veg (due to the extra handful of spinach thrown in at the last minute!), which is hosted this month by Katherine at Veggie Desserts, for Michelle Utterly Scrummy and Fuss Free Helen
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Disclosure: I am a Froothie Ambassador. This post contains affiliate links.
That is a beautiful recipe Kate, I’ve got several jars of dried mushrooms, and I think that we do not cook with often enough. Simply stunning.
Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours recently posted…Recipe: Cheesy Baked Bean Pasty Puffs
Thanks Helen – yes I’ve just cleared myself out of dried mushrooms with this, but use them a lot – a great way of getting a really deeply savoury flavour into lots of things without meat!
Your photography is stunning. It definitely looks too good to eat!
Sisley White recently posted…Spicy Bean Beef Stew
Thanks Sisley! X
I love adding alcohol to soups, I added some Madeira to my last mushroom soup but I also love Sherry both to drink and to use in savoury dishes. Your soup looks so rich and tempting, perfect Autumnal flavours! Thanks for linking to my soup too x
Thanks Laura – yes I’m all in favour of adding a splash of booze to most things, can’t go wrong really!! Yours looks lovely, must try it sometime.
This looks absolutely amazing. I agree with you about those tins of creamy soup – they’re never as good as they look in the picture! Homemade mushroom soup is fab though 🙂
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche recently posted…Spinach and ricotta stuffed potatoes with tomato sauce
Mushroom soup is my favorite! I’ve never thought to add spinach. I can’t wait to try your version. 🙂
Jess recently posted…Homemade Almond Nutella
This sounds SO delicious! Mushrooms and sherry compliment each other so perfectly, don’t they?! I love the idea of adding some pearl barley here, it would make the most amazing lunch!
Stephanie | The Foodie and The Fix recently posted…Pecorino Mashed Cauliflower with Sherry-Rosemary Mushrooms
Wow – this is certainly better than those gloopy tins! It sounds so flavourful and I love the addition of sherry. Thanks for entering #ExtraVeg!
Kate @ Veggie Desserts recently posted…Staying at the IBIS Heathrow with Food Blogger Friends
Mmm, this sounds delicious! I also love the mushroom-sherry combo, which I usually use when frying mushrooms (preferably wild) with garlic and a manzanilla sherry, finished with a bit of chopped parsley.
Tortilla for tea recently posted…Mung bean curry