Creamy Chanterelle Mushroom Soup

I found this easy creamy chanterelle mushroom soup recipe on Serious Eats intrigued me because the title said it was a creamy soup, but it used no cream. What made the soup creamy? Butter. Slowly adding butter while emulsifying it with a blender made the soup rich, buttery, and creamy. This creamy chanterelle mushroom soup is not your everyday soup. I think it’s a perfect soup for this time of year, and it paired nicely with a harvest salad and some crusty bread. It would also pair well with the most elegant meals served for Thanksgiving or Christmas, especially with prime rib! My entire family agreed that this soup was special–we all loved it.

Creamy Chanterelle Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chanterelle mushrooms cleaned and trimmed, stems reserved (see note above) (Reserving ½ cup of mushroom caps for garnish)
• 7 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
• 6 tbsp butter divided
• 1½ medium shallots, thinly sliced, plus ½ shallot minced, for garnish
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp flour
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 thyme sprigs, plus ½ tsp thyme leaves, divided
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil

How to Make Creamy Chanterelle Mushroom Soup

Make a mushroom broth by removing the stems from the mushrooms. Place the mushroom stems in a medium saucepan. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and keep warm.

Slice mushroom caps. Set ½ cup mushrooms aside for garnish.

Prepare the soup by melting 2 tablespoons of butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add mushrooms and shallots (except for garnish) and cook, stirring often, until very soft, about 7-8 minutes.

Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

Add flour and stir to incorporate. Cook for 30 seconds.

Place a fine-mesh strainer over the soup and pour the mushroom-infused broth through the strainer, discarding mushroom scraps.

Stir the soup, making sure to scrape up any bits off the bottom of the Dutch oven.

Add bay leaves and thyme sprigs to the soup. Bring the mushroom soup to a simmer, making sure to maintain a bare bubble. Let the soup simmer for 30 minutes.

Discard bay leaves and thyme, then blend well with an immersion blender or blender.

Once it’s well blended, slowly add three tablespoons of butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until fully incorporated. Continue blending until completely smooth.

Rinse out the pot and pour soup back into it through a fine-mesh strainer. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste.

Cook the garnish by heating the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the reserved mushrooms to the HOT skillet and cook, stirring often, until browned, about 3-4 minutes.

Add minced shallots and thyme sprigs and toss until fragrant, about 15 seconds.

Add 2 tablespoons of water and the remaining tablespoon of butter. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls, then top with sautéed mushroom mixture. Serve immediately. Enjoy!