One plus one equals - mushroom soup

I love mushrooms, I love soup - one plus one equals - mushroom soup. I have been making a particular mushroom soup for at least a decade and a half but haven’t looked at the original recipe in at least as long.

A few things I know I’ve changed are the seasoning, which are flavours I personally enjoy. I also substituted the bread which the recipe used to thicken the soup with white beans as they are way more nutritious. If you hate beans (and you really don’t taste them in the recipe) substitute them with about 5 slices of white bread.

What sets this recipe apart for me is that it is reasonably light and nutritious. Whereas most mushrooms soups recipes are basically mushroom flavoured cream and should be eaten sparingly if one is to avoid looking like the Michelin man half way through winter.

Mushroom soup

Makes 2 litres

1 Tbsp of olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

500g of mushrooms, chopped

2 Tbsp soya sauce

1 ½ tsp of ground cumin

1 tsp of ground coriander

½ tsp of mixed spice

½ tsp of salt

1 tsp of black pepper

1 litre of vegetable stock

1 ½ cups of haricot, cannellini or butter beans, tinned or pre cooked if dry

2 Tbsp chopped basil or parsley

125ml of cream (totally optional)

Heat the oil in a large pot. Fry the onion, garlic and mushrooms until they reduce in size to about half. Add a little water if they start to stick. Add the soya and spice and fry a little until the flavours have released. Add the stock and allow this to simmer for 5 minutes. Gently blend with a stick blender but don’t over blend, some texture is nice. Add the herbs and cream if using and serve.

This soup freezes beautifully, so make extra and keep it for a quick meal.