Golden Cream Of Mushroom Soup With Crispy Shallots Recipe 435

Steps:

• To make crispy shallots, cook in a thin layer of olive oil until golden (not too high of a heat, or they can easily burn). Remove when almost golden brown-they will carry over. Set aside to drain on a paper towel. SOUP: In a Dutch Oven, heat a little bit of olive oil and butter, just enough for a thin coating. Cook the mushrooms for about 3 to 5 minutes, until golden. Set aside. Using the same pot, add a little more olive oil and sauté the sliced shallots until tender. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Season with a little kosher salt, pepper and dried thyme. Add the flour, stir and cook for about one minute. Return the mushrooms to the cooked shallots, add tomato paste, the sherry or wine (if using) and about 1 cup of the chicken stock. Stir to combine. All the remaining chicken stock and simmer for about 10 minutes. Purée the soup in batches, carefully, in a blender. I prefer to use an immersion blender right into the pot, which is so much simpler! Purée to your liking, I leave small chunks of mushroom. Add the heavy cream/half-and-half. Serve with a dollop of creme fraîche and the crispy shallots on top.

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat; cook mushrooms in butter with 1 pinch salt until the mushrooms give off their juices; reduce heat to low. Continue to cook, stirring often, until juices evaporate and the mushrooms are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Set aside a few attractive mushroom slices for garnish later, if desired. Mix onion into mushrooms and cook until onion is soft and translucent, about 5 more minutes.
• Stir flour into mushroom mixture and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes to remove raw flour taste. Tie thyme sprigs into a small bundle with kitchen twine and add to mushroom mixture; add garlic cloves. Pour chicken stock and water into mushroom mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. Remove thyme bundle.
• Transfer soup to a blender in small batches and puree on high speed until smooth and thick.
• Return soup to pot and stir in cream. Season with salt and black pepper and serve in bowls, garnished with reserved mushroom slices and a few thyme leaves.