Making the Most of Veg Boxes - Mushroom Soup

While the hospitality sector has sadly suffered -  and continues to suffer - from the Covid-19 pandemic, many food provision retailers have boomed. Diversification was key to survival, and many have blossomed into online sales and/or delivery as ways to stay ahead. I was in one of our local shops recently, Fosters, which sells flowers and plants and fabulous deli goods, many sourced from Italy, and was alarmed to hear that the owner had originally planned to shut down for good this Autumn as he was failing to bring in the earnings. Now, after an amazing year of veg box deliveries, he is once again thriving and hopefully continuing to go from strength to strength. Similarly, Fruits of the Forage - a local produced of foraged preserves, cordials and other goodies - diversified into vegetable box deliveries, with something foraged thrown in wherever possible, and have duly developed a whole new strong arm to their business. It is good to hear these success stories amongst all the gloom and doom. 

In the Autumn we received the Fruits of the Forage boxes as my eldest daughter was working for them, and it was always fun to see what was in it every week! There was such a cornucopia of delights that I often had to come up with some quite creative ideas as to how to use everything up without waste. The company’s facebook page is a great source of inspiration for recipes. 

For now, I am going to give you a very simple recipe using the seasonal mushrooms which were abundant back in the Autumn - though of course available all year round. I always think of Mushroom soup as a bit of a retro thing - very 1970s somehow! Yet it is simple, it is honest, it is classic - so here is my recipe for a humble version of this underrated little fungus, full of earthy umami flavours which go so well with a good glass of red wine. I do, however, offer my apologies that I am writing about it here in Spring rather than last Autumn...though given the unseasonably low temperatures at the moment you’d be forgiven for thinking it was late October or November! Nothing like a bowl of hearty soup to warm you up! So here goes:-

Ingredients 

300-350g mushrooms

1 medium to large white onion 

2 fat cloves of garlic

50g unsalted butter

1 Tablespoon of olive oil

About a tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley

Fresh thyme leaves pulled off about 6-8 sprigs

2 tablespoons of Marsala wine (or medium-dry sherry - amontillado or similar)

Juice and Zest of half a lemon

1 tablespoon of sour cream or crème fraîche 

2 tablespoons of double cream

1 litre of chicken (or vegetable stock), homemade if possible. (NB: Chicken stock will add more depth of flavour than vegetable, but go with your preference)

Method

1) Heat the olive oil in a heavy based or non-stick saucepan on a medium heat (or Aga simmering plate)

2) Peel and chop the onion and add to the pan with a teaspoon of salt (this draws out the moisture in the onions to keep them soft while cooking and avoiding rapid burning)

3) Clean, wipe and chop the mushrooms and add to the onions in the pan together with 50g of unsalted butter. Give it a good stir and allow the ingredients to meld for about 10 minutes, keeping an eye on them.

4) After about 10 minutes, add the sherry or Marsala and some ground black pepper together with the lemon juice and zest, the sour cream (or crème fraîche) and the two crushed garlic cloves. Give the mix a good stir and allow to meld together again. 

5) Add the chopped herbs and double cream

6) Add the stock, bring up to the boil and allow to simmer away for a few minutes. 

7) Remove from the heat and blitz with a hand blender (or use a liquidiser for a smoother finish).

8) Bring back to temperature before serving. 

9) Pour into warmed bowls and decorate with a swirl of double cream and fresh parsley sprigs. 

10) Serve with crusty bread or sourdough. I like to toast some sourdough, rub it with garlic and drizzle it with extra virgin olive oil, or hazelnut oil. 

Enjoy!

These quantities make about 4 small bowls or 2 large bowls of soup.