Well, Miss Becca, this post is for you.
Becca is my niece in-law who lives in jolly old England at the present and challenged me to come up with a mushroom bisque recipe reminiscent of her favorite soup at a local eatery in the States. I’ve thought about the recipe for quite a long time and felt that while the soup’s flavor is very rich and satisfying, the recipe probably wasn’t very complicated.
Finally, a couple of days ago I worked up the courage to give my formulated recipe a try. The only absolute parts of it that I had planned were that I would brown the onions and mushrooms together in some olive oil and butter and that somehow there were would be some cream involved. Once that beautiful onion and mushroom flavor started wafting in spirals up from the pan, the rest of the recipe started falling into place. The surprise ingredient for me was Worcestershire sauce. After my first taste of the initial soup, I knew that the soup wouldn’t be complete without it.
This soup is not an exact knock-off of the soup that Becca so much enjoys, but it is awfully good. I think that the only thing I would have to change in order to bring my soup in line with the one at the local eatery would be to use more butter.
I hope that you will enjoy this soup as much as I have enjoyed it. Be sure to use a variety of mushrooms in the soup–it would be best with crimini, shiitake, and button mushrooms. As for an onion flavor, I believe that any of the following would work well: yellow onions, leeks, or shallots. Have fun mixing and matching flavors and let me know what worked well for you.
Mushroom Bisque
Ingredients
- 2 pounds mushrooms Suggested: crimini (aka baby bellas), shiitake, morel, or button. A mix of these would be delicious.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 medium onions, large dice May also use leeks or shallots
- 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 3½ cups chicken stock, divided
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 2 cups cream or half and half
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1½ teaspoons seasoning salt
Instructions
- Clean mushrooms, trim stems, then quarter.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. When it is hot, add the olive oil and butter. Stir until the butter melts.
- Add the mushrooms and onions to the frying pan and stir to coat. Lower the heat if necessary. The mushrooms will give up a lot of water in the initial cooking process. After the water has reduced, lower the heat to low and cook the mushrooms and onions until they begin to take on a caramelized appearance. Watch carefully and stir as needed so that they do not burn.
- Once the mushrooms and onions have caramelized, add the garlic. Continue to cook until garlic is fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add two cups of the chicken broth and the thyme to the pan with the mushroom mixture. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and allow the liquid to reduce by half. Take pan off the heat and allow everything to cool somewhat.
- Transfer the mushroom and broth mixture from the pan into a blender. (Note: if you would like some chunky mushroom pieces in your soup, reserve a small amount to add back into the soup in the next step.) Pulse-blend a few times to begin to incorporate the ingredients, then turn the blender on high and process until fairly smooth. With the blender running, pour 1 cup of cream into the ingredients in the blender and process for a few seconds until well blended.
- Pour contents from the blender into a saucepot. Stir in the remaining 1 cup cream, the remaining 1½ cups chicken broth or stock, Worcestershire sauce, reserved mushrooms (if using), and seasoning salt.
- Cook and stir over medium heat until soup is hot, but not boiling. Taste for flavor; adjust seasonings as needed. If you prefer a thinner soup, add a little more chicken broth.
We love you, we love you, we love you!! I literally gasped when I saw that you posted this and Jeff got really excited too. Now to find a way to work Worcestershire sauce into the budget and find a place to store it…
If there’s a will, there’s a way. Annie Bananie can tuck a bottle in your next care package. And hey, the sauce originated in Worcester (the famous Lea and Perrins), so it would seem as though you could get it for a song over there. I know it’s a little pricey here in the States, but how much does it cost in London? Just curious.
As for storage, it doesn’t need to be refrigerated, so you can keep it just about anywhere…in your sock drawer, under the bed, between the mattresses, as a centerpiece on your kitchen table, in the corner of a closet shelf…the options are endless.
I’ve thought about getting Worcestershire sauce several times, and it’s pretty cheap here–a small 150 ml bottle is a pound, which is actually the same price as mustard (regular, wholegrain, OR dijon) and cheaper than BBQ sauce. I haven’t yet because of space. Our spice shelf is really full, to the point of putting spices in with the glasses, tupperware, and potatoes. So we’re trying to use what we already have and I’m already in trouble because I bought BBQ sauce a little while ago.
I just found your blog…I’m not sure how I happened upon it… but I did. I just want to say that I cracked up reading your penny casserole story. (And I felt for you after reading your pot roast story which, by the way, I made today.) Thanks for the recipes! You are a great writer- and cook! (Or so your recipes would indicate since I don’t actually know you…:)
Welcome Kristin. I’m glad that you are enjoying the blog. I hope that the pot roast worked for you. If you ever have questions about one of my recipes, don’t hesitate to ask. By the way, I love your wedding picture. Gorgeous.