Cream of Mushroom Soup

by Mary McDougall - more of her recipes

We serve a version of this soup at the McDougall residential program and it is always very popular.  If you know a “vegetable hater” who loves mushrooms, they might also be tempted by this delicious soup.

Preparation Time:  15 minutes
Cooking Time:  30 minutes
Servings: 6-8

1 onion, chopped
4 cups chopped, assorted fresh mushrooms (see hint)
½ cup white wine (or water)
5 cups vegetable broth
2 cups frozen, chopped hash brown potatoes
1-2 tablespoons parsley flakes
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 ½ cups soy milk

Place the onions, mushrooms, and wine (or water) in a large pot.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.  Add the broth, frozen potatoes, parsley and nutmeg.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat slightly so soup just boils and cook, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.  Process in the pot with a hand-held blender so mushrooms are finely chopped, but not pureed.  (Or remove and process slightly in batches in a food processor.)  Add soy milk and heat through.  Serve with thick slices of fresh bread.

Hint:  Use a variety of fresh mushrooms for the best flavor in this soup.  I usually use about ½ pound of button mushrooms, a few shiitake mushrooms, and then an assortment of exotic mushrooms, such as clamshell, oyster and trumpet royale.  Most of these will be available at various times of the year in natural food stores or specialty markets.  Frozen, chopped hash brown potatoes are sold in bags in the frozen food section of most supermarkets or in the natural food stores.  They are very convenient for adding thickness and flavor to soups, but an equal amount of peeled, chopped fresh potatoes may also be used.