I can’t stop buying mushrooms. No seriously, it’s a bit of a problem. I’ll have two punnets in the fridge, go shopping with a clear meal plan and a concise list, and end up driving back with two more punnets stashed in the bag. 800 grams to use up in 3 days before they go mouldy and oppress me with the speed of their wilt? This is the kind of stuff that keeps me up at night. (And I’m saying this as a mum of a 9-month old.)

As a consequence, the only planning I do around here revolves around making sure I don’t have two consecutive posts featuring mushrooms. Not that I succeed but that’s besides the point. We use them in eggs, oatmeal, pastas, French toasts (but of course!), enchiladas, noodles, you name it. But a good, robust, mushroom soup though. A favourite around these parts. I’m not someone that does only soups for dinner, I need something more substantial, but this soup can really hold its own. A few slices of toast (with garlic rubbed over them) for dunking, and you’re sorted.

I like to use a mix of mushrooms—an assortment of dried and fresh—but I save the effort of grocery store foraging and fancy versions for special meals or when we’re entertaining (although the dried stuff is easy to find and also quite reasonable these days).

The standard version (this one) uses just button mushrooms. To amp up their umami richness, we go in with a good dollop of miso. Flour does the heavy lighting to thicken the soup, but miso further assists with this too.

Note: I used shiro (white) miso which is milder than aka (red) miso. If red is all you have, halve the amount and adjust as you go along.

MUSHROOM MISO SOUP

Servings: 2 people

Ingredients

  • 400 grams button mushrooms, sliced (with their stems intact)
  • I large onion, finely chopped
  • 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 25 grams butter
  • 3 teaspoons flour
  • 2 teaspoons shiro miso paste
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon peppercorns
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 veg stock cube
  • Salt, to taste

Instructions

  • Sauté onions and garlic in butter over medium heat. Once browned, tip in the mushrooms, peppercorns and bay leaves. Cook on high until the mushrooms start to brown slightly. They will first let out a lot of water. Keep the heat on high and leave them untouched until they start to colour.
  • Add flour and miso paste. Continue cooking for a few more mins, stirring frequently.
  • Crumble in the stock cube and add milk. Stir everything together and cover and cook for 5-7 mins.
  • Fish out and discard the bay leaves. Blend the contents of the pot adding enough water to bring it to a thickness you like. (I used about 2 cups of water.)
  • Return the soup back to the pot. Taste and adjust seasoning. Reheat before serving with a drizzle of olive oil.

Notes

Shiro miso is milder than aka miso. That’s what I used here.

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