Mushroom Soup

The easiest way to thicken a soup is to make a roux. Heat equal parts fat – butter or oil – and flour in a pan on medium heat, stirring occasionally until lightly browned with a biscuity aroma. The cooled roux is then incorporated towards the end of simmering the soup. This way, you can adjust the soup’s texture by gradually adding roux and letting it thicken the soup before adding more.

The keys to flavourful mushrooms are fat and time. First sauté the mushrooms in a dry pan on medium-high heat until the mushrooms start releasing water. Let the water evaporate in the pan until the mushrooms are almost completely dry. Then add oil or butter, salt, pepper, and a crushed clove of garlic for added flavour. The fat is crucial for developing deep flavours in the mushrooms. When they reach a nice brown colour, your mushrooms are ready to enjoy.

If your mushrooms have turned slimy and dark in the fridge, they are most likely past their ‘best before’ date. We wouldn’t take a chance on slimy mushrooms but would recommend discarding them and getting new ones. Sometimes, puréeing potatoes can result in a slimy texture, as the potato starch bonds with the liquid. Using an electric whisk or a potato masher to smoothen your soup will prevent this unwanted sliminess.

When cooked well, most mushrooms show mild, deep, foresty flavours. However, mushroom types do vary in their intensity of flavour. On the milder end of the spectrum, we find button and oyster mushrooms. More flavourful types are portobello and shiitake. Among the most flavourful mushrooms that you may come across in stores and restaurants are chanterelles, porcini, and morels. These are rightly considered delicacies and cannot be farmed but only foraged for a limited period of time every year.