This mushroom soup is creamy, savory and comfortingly familiar, but with deeper flavors and more nutritional benefits than you might expect. The mushrooms and shallots are first roasted until they are beautifully browned, giving the soup more concentrated, layered taste. There’s also an exciting splash of dry sherry (you could substitute additional broth and a tablespoon of sherry vinegar), fresh thyme and a bit of garlic. Besides that, the soup gets its creaminess not from cream, but from a can of cannellini beans, which get pureed and add enough protein to make it a meal in a bowl.
To save on time, while the mushrooms and shallots roast, prep the remaining ingredients. If you don’t have sherry on hand, use about 1/4 cup more broth and 1 tablespoon sherry or white wine vinegar.
Total time: 45 mins
Make Ahead: The mushrooms and shallots may be roasted in advance and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Storage Notes: Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.
Servings: 4 When you scale a recipe, keep in mind that cooking times and temperatures, pan sizes and seasonings may be affected, so adjust accordingly. Also, amounts listed in the directions will not reflect the changes made to ingredient amounts.
When you scale a recipe, keep in mind that cooking times and temperatures, pan sizes and seasonings may be affected, so adjust accordingly. Also, amounts listed in the directions will not reflect the changes made to ingredient amounts.
Tested size: 4 servings; makes about 6 cups
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds mixed mushrooms, such as oyster, baby bella, shiitake and/or maitake, sliced
- 3 large shallots (9 ounces total), cut into 3/4-inch wide wedges
- 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 3/4 teaspoon fine salt, divided, plus more to taste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or finely grated
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 4 cups no-salt-added or low-sodium beef or vegetable broth, plus more broth or water as needed
- One (15-ounce) can no-salt-added cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
- 1/4 cup dry sherry (see headnote)
- Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Directions
Position racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, toss the mushrooms and shallots with 3 tablespoons of the oil and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Spread the mushrooms across 2 large, rimmed baking sheets and roast for 10 minutes. Stir, switch the top to bottom and vice versa, rotating each baking sheet front to back, and continue roasting an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until the mushrooms release their water and brown, and the shallots soften. Remove from the oven and set aside.
In a large pot over medium heat, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until shimmering. Add the garlic and thyme and cook, stirring, until aromatic, 30 seconds. Reserve 1/4 cup of the mushrooms for garnish. Add the remaining mushrooms and the shallots to the pot, along with the broth, beans, pepper and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir in the sherry and cook until the flavors meld, 3 minutes more.
Using an immersion blender, puree the soup in the pot until smooth. (Alternatively, let cool until not scalding and puree in batches in a regular blender.) Stir in additional broth or water if needed to thin to get your desired consistency. Rewarm the soup if needed, taste, and season with additional salt, if desired.
Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with the reserved mushrooms, a pinch of black pepper, if you like, and parsley, and serve.
Recipe Source
From cookbook author and registered dietitian nutritionist Ellie Krieger.
Tested by Olga Massov.
Email questions to the Food Section at food@washpost.com.
