This incredible wild mushroom soup is perfect for fall. It features beautiful wild chanterelles and other mushrooms with butternut squash, thyme, and wild rice.
My heart aches for people who don’t like mushrooms. Like seriously, I am so sorry for their loss. However, if you are reading this recipe you likley don’t fall into that unfortunate category #somethingtobethankfulfor. Mushrooms have such a unique, earthy flavour, and there are so many types that people rarely get the chance to try! When I first moved to Vancouver, I was living on the UBC campus and always saw people wandering around in the forest outside my window collecting mushrooms. Albeit, they may not always have been the type of mushrooms one might put in a soup (if you catch my drift), but it was the first time I really thought about foraging for food.
I recently had THE BEST meal at Pilgrimme on Galiano Island, BC. Pilgrimme is a forage to table fine dining restaurant in a little wooden house surrounded by forest. The tasting menu featured all sorts of inventive and delicious ingredients sourced from British Columbia. Again, it got me thinking about the bounty of the forests we are so blessed to be surrounded by on the West Coast. If anyone happens to be travelling through the Gulf Islands, I would ABSOLUTELY recommend an evening at Pilgrimme (though you will need to book at least a month in advance).
Now, I don’t feel I have the expertise to forage for mushrooms in the forest near my apartment, but when I saw these foraged chanterelles, I new I had to cook with them. And with Thanksgiving fast approaching, my favourite soup would be a perfect prelude to turkey/stuffing/etc. As much as I love mushrooms, I seldom love a blended cream of mushroom soup. I think it stems from the Campbells canned mushroom soup that I always found reminiscent of bird poop (sorry). This (unblended) wild mushroom soup recipe has been in my family for ages, and nothing tastes more like fall.
Wild Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup wild rice
- 6 cups mushroom broth
- 1oz dried porcini (or shiitake) mushrooms
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms coarsely sliced
- 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms thinly sliced
- 1/2 pound chanterelle mushrooms coarsely sliced
- 1/4 cup brandy
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 cup minced shallot (about 2 shallots)
- 1 stalk celery minced
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp coarse black pepper
- 3 cups cubed
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- pinch of nutmeg
- 2 tbs chopped thyme
- 1 tbs chopped rosemary
Directions
- Combine 3 cups of mushroom broth and wild rice in large pot and bring to a boil on high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook until rice is soft and greens are beginning to burst, about 40 minutes. Drain, set aside, and reserve the liquid
- Cover the dried porcini mushrooms in 1 cup boiling water. Allow to soak until they soften (about 30 minutes), drain and reserve the liquid (you may need to strain it for grit in a cheesecloth or fine strainer). Chop the rehydrated mushrooms finely.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the shiitakes and cremini mushrooms until softened (about 5 minutes). Add the chanterelles and cook for another 2 minutes. Pour in the brandy and and stir for a minute. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a large pot, melt the remaining butter over medium heat. Cook the shallots, celery, and garlic until sightly browned (about 5 minutes). Pour in the strained mushroom soaking liquid, the rice liquid, and the remaining mushroom broth.
- Add butternut squash and cook for 10 minutes until tender.
- Add the cooked rice, mushrooms, vegetables to the stock. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, thyme, and rosemary. Add whipped cream just before serving.
