Stephen Harris’ cream of mushroom soup recipe

Canned mushroom soups can taste neither of mushrooms nor of cream, says chef Stephen Harris. So he came up with a recipe that’s quick and convenient.

“The results were spectacular; a comforting, clean-tasting mushroom soup with a freshness that only comes from making something at home. The warmth of the past freed from contextual complexity.”

Cream of mushroom soup

Ingredients
(Serves 4)

700ml whole milk
20g dried porcini
50g unsalted butter
1 bunch of salad onions, chopped
500g chestnut mushrooms, thinly sliced
1tbsp light soy sauce
1tsp white truffle oil
2tbsp crème fraîche, plus extra to serve
2tbsp finely chopped chives
Salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C fan (350°F).

2. Bring the milk to the boil in a saucepan, then add three-quarters of the dried porcini. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse while you prepare everything else.

3. Scatter the remaining porcini over a small baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes, then transfer to a small food processor and blitz to a powder.

4. Heat the butter in a large non-stick frying pan or saucepan over a medium heat. As it melts, add the salad onions and mushrooms. Add a good pinch of salt – this will draw the water from the mushrooms and help them to cook down. Cook for about 5 minutes until the mushrooms are starting to show signs of browning, then add the soy sauce and continue to cook for 5 minutes until the mushrooms have given up most of their moisture. Add another good pinch of salt and cook until the pan is almost dry.

5. Transfer the cooked mushrooms to a blender along with the truffle oil. Strain the dried porcini from the milk and pour the milk over the mushrooms in the blender.

6. Finely chop half the rehydrated porcini and add to the blender (I find adding all of them doesn’t produce a good result but they have done their job in adding flavour to the milk).

7. Blend the mixture on high speed for a couple of minutes until it’s a smooth consistency. Add the crème fraîche and blend again. It should now be a soup with froth on top. Check the seasoning.

8. Pour the soup into bowls and top with the chopped chives and a dollop of crème fraîche. Put the porcini powder into a tea strainer or fine-mesh sieve and tap it over the soup rather like chocolate on a cappuccino. Serve.

The Sportsman at Home by Stephen Harris is published in hardback by Quadrille, priced £30. Photography by Kim Lightbody. Available now.