creamy mushroom soup with brandy and sage
shifting into soup mode 🍄🥣
Welcome to thyme & butter recipe club, a weekly newsletter where I share my favorite recipes. Thank you for being here! 🌿💛
If you’ve stumbled across this post but are not yet subscribed, allow me to help you with that:
Soup season is upon us! There’s finally a bit of chill in the air here in Pennsylvania and the autumn equinox falls on this Saturday, so it is officially time to start gearing up for those cozy recipes! This George Costanza quote perfectly sums up my attitude this week:
This time around we’re making wild mushroom soup, inspired by a dish from the Jean Bonnet Tavern in Bedford, PA. I knew instantly upon tasting their soup that I had to try to replicate it myself. While I don’t think I’ll quite put ole Jean Bonnet out of business, this soup is a very close “dupe.”
Unlike the name states, I wouldn’t consider the mushrooms I used in this soup to be “wild” by any means. They came from the grocery store, which is about as tame as you can get. Domestic mushroom soup doesn’t exactly have the same ring to it, though.
Mushroom soup is also pretty difficult to photograph! It’s certainly not the most photogenic soup I’ve ever made, but what it lacks in beauty it makes up for in flavor! Here’s how to make it:
Ingredients:
1 large onion (chopped)
½ stick of butter
2 leeks (chopped)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon fresh sage (finely chopped)
16oz portobello mushrooms (sliced)
16oz cremini mushrooms (sliced)
4oz shiitake mushroom (sliced)
3 tablespoons flour
⅓ cup brandy
1½ quarts chicken stock
1 cup cream
salt and pepper to taste
Note: Salt is a tricky subject; only you know how much is too much or too little! I’d rather have you reaching for the salt shaker at the table than give you a recipe that is going to raise your blood pressure! I also believe things like salt, pepper, and herbs are the type of ingredients to measure with your heart!
Instructions:
In a large pot on medium heat, melt your butter and toss in the onion. Allow to sauté until translucent, stirring frequently to avoid burning.
Add leeks and herbs to the pot, as well as pinches of salt and pepper, stir to incorporate.
Mix in your variety of mushrooms and allow to cook until tender. There are a lot of mushrooms here, so this could take the better part of 30 minutes. Add in the brandy.
Once the mushrooms and brandy have cooked down a bit, sprinkle flour over your mixture and stir until there are no lumps of flour. Turn off the heat.
To a blender or large food processor, add about half of the mushroom mixture from your pot and pour in at least enough chicken stock to cover it (my blender fit a full quart, so I used that) and blend until smooth.
Once smooth, return the pot to the heat and pour in the blended mushrooms. Add the remaining chicken stock and stir to combine.
Bring the pot to a simmer and allow to thicken, stirring intermittently, about ten minutes.
Give the soup a taste and adjust the flavor to your liking. Depending on your preferences, you may find it needs a touch more salt, pepper, sage, or thyme. To deepen the flavor, add a dash or two of worcestershire sauce. If you’d like some heat, a dash of cayenne will do!
When about ready to serve, stir in the cream and simmer for two or three more minutes.
Serve with a sprinkle of parsley or parmesan. Top with croutons or dip in with a crusty garlic bread.
And there you have it, a delicious cozy soup just in time for fall!
Much love,
jess✨
As always, you can reply to this email to let me know what you think, or keep me posted on what you’ve been cooking lately! You can also leave a comment on Substack or forward to a friend!
Find me on Instagram and Pinterest 💕
All past recipes will be available in the archive, so you never have to worry about missing one!
Thank you for reading thyme & butter. These posts are public so you are always welcome to share them! 🧈💚