Balthazar’s Cream of Mushroom Soup, Sans Cream

When I set out to hit the kitchen this evening, soup was not on the menu. I had grand plans for a vegan version of paella but as I was browsing the aisles at Farm Boy, I discovered the “good for today but maybe not tomorrow” produce section held this evening’s culinary destiny. This is the brilliant bit about shopping in season, sometimes you walk in for one thing but based on what’s available, leave with something else entirely.

What pray tell did I find on the baker’s racks that was so compelling? Nearly three pounds of my favourite mushrooms for a grand total of six dollars. Six. Dollars. Hell, sometimes one lobster mushroom alone is six dollars. The tasty trinity of portobello, shiitake and king eryngii for less than a third of their price was way too good to pass up. I love a deal nearly as much as I love mushrooms so just like that I pitched the plan for paella in favour of fungi.

As I’m passing the packages to B to place in our cart (she loves to help), I’m scanning my mental to-make list of dishes with mushrooms. Risotto? Nope, already done. Pasta? A few times over. Then I remembered the classic cream of mushroom soup recipe from Balthazar’s Cookbook I rediscovered just last weekend as I was thumbing through my pre-vegan favs over morning coffee looking for inspiration.

Not much needed changing and while I could have easily straight-up subbed the dairy for cashew cream, I decided to see if I could do without it all together. I love cream in a lot of things but rarely in soup. In my occasionally humble opinion, soup should be hearty without the heft. Adding cream, cashew or otherwise, negates this. So, what could I add to improve the texture and amp up the flavour at the same time? Shredded celery root is the answer. Celery root is a much mellower version of the stalk variety and when shredded and simmered basically becomes a creamy mush all on it’s own. This means if you wanted to say, keep the mushrooms whole and serve this as a sauce over pasta instead, you’d still have a great base to bind to the pasta.

Fast forward a few and simmering away in my stock pot was an amazingly rich, creamy of mushroom soup, sans cream. Without the fatty distraction, the flavour profile of this dish comes through as clearly as a bell. For this mushroom momma, there’s nothing better. Ring a ding ding.

Balthazar’s Cream of Mushroom Soup, Sans Cream

loosely adapted from the Balthazar Cookbook
Prep Time: 15 mins / Active time: 45 mins / Serves 6-8

For the soup:

3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp Earth Balance Buttery Stick
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 sprigs of sage
1 large yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly minced
3/4 pound portobello, cleaned and thinly sliced
3/4 pound king eryngii, cleaned and thinly sliced
3/4 pound shiitake mushrooms stemmed, cleaned and thinly sliced
generous splash of brandy
1 cup celery root, peeled and coarsely grated
4 cups mushroom, vegetable stock or water
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:
1. Over medium heat, bring olive oil and Earth Balance up to temperature in a large, heavy pot. and add sage, thyme and sizzle for a few minutes on both sides to infuse the oil with their flavour.
2. Add the onion, garlic and cook for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent but not brown.
3. Add mushrooms, splash with brandy and just let it ride for about ten minutes, stirring every so often.The mushrooms will give off their liquid and deflate by at least half.
4. Add mushroom/vegetable stock/water, grated celery root, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
NOTE: This is the best time to remove the woody stems from the herbs as they should have now risen to float on top of stock liquid.
5. Once sufficiently simmered, either puree in batches with a blender or use an immersion blender and puree until you achieve your preferred consistency.
6. Ladle our into bowls and enjoy with a toasted EB slathered slice of crusty bread and savour!

If you wanted to add 1/2 cup of cashew cream to finish things off a little, I’m sure it would be over the top divine. I don’t think it needs it as its more than creamy enough but that’s just my take on it -make yours!