Disaster Chef: Cream of Mushroom Soup (project pinterest)

My inspiration for this soup was actually a beef stroganoff recipe that called for 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup. I would probably have to be very desperate to use canned soup, so I thought I'd find a good recipe and save some for the stroganoff. This recipe, from Pinterest, caught my eye. But let me just warn, there was NOT a lot of it! Not even enough for the stroganoff...and I'm not talking about leftovers here. I mean, it made about 2.5 cups total. So, I'd recommend doubling the recipe, especially if you want to have some leftover for cooking or if you just like soup. And trust me, you're going to want to have a bowl of this, and probably go back for seconds.

Here's my version, adapted from the original recipe, which can be found over at Veg Recipes of India.

• 1 16oz. package baby portabella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 small to medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• a pinch of grated nutmeg
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup full fat milk at room temperature
• 6 tbsp half&half or cream
• 1 tbsp whole wheat flour or all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp butter
• ½ tsp dried parsley
• freshly crushed black pepper as required
• salt as required
• a few chopped parsley or coriander leaves for garnishing (I didn't have these, but they make the pictures so much prettier on the original website!)

  

  I made this in my cast iron, where I make everything!

Here are her Instructions

This step is not pretty. It looks pretty disgusting right now, actually.

1. melt the butter in a sauce pan.
2. add the bay leaf and saute till fragrant - about 4-5 seconds.
3. add the chopped onions and garlic.
4. saute till they soften and become translucent.
5. add the sliced or chopped mushrooms and saute till the mushrooms start to release water.
6. saute till all the water dries up and the mushrooms are a light brown (this took quite a while, and the onions got a bit mushy by then, so I might not cook them as long next time).
7. add the flour and saute for 3-4 minutes stirring often.
8. then add freshly crushed black pepper and saute for half a minute.
9. add water first followed by milk.
10. stir well and season with salt.
11. on a low flame let the soup come to gentle simmer
12. the soup would also begin to thicken.
13. simmer for about 4-5 minutes.
14. then add the cream and parsley.
15. simmer for 2-3 minutes more stirring often.
16. lastly sprinkle nutmeg powder and stir.
17. switch off the stove top and pour the soup in individual serving bowls.
18. serve the cream of mushroom soup steaming hot garnished with parsley or coriander.