2-4 tablespoons Butter

1 small Onion — thinly sliced

12 ounces Button mushrooms

4 cups veggie Stock

1 sprig Italian parsley — whole

Salt and Pepper

2 ounces Dry sherry — high quality

In a medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over median heat and add the onion. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent,, then add the mushrooms and the remaining butter. Let the mixture sweat for about 8 minutes, taking care that the onion doesn’t take  on any brown color. Stir in the chicken stock and the parley and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour.

After an hour, remove the parsley and discard. let the soup cool for a few minutes, then transfer to the blender and carefully blend at high speed until smooth. Do I have to remind you to do this in stages, with the blender’s lid firmly held down, and with the weight of your body keeping the thing from flying off and allowing boiling hot mushroom puree to erupt all over your kitchen?

IMPROVISATION

To astound your guest with a Wild Mushroom Soup, simply replace some of those button mushrooms with a few dried cepes or morels which have been soaked until soft, drained, and squeezed. Not too many; the dried mushroom will have a much stronger taste, and you don’t want to overwhelm the soup. Pan sear, on high heat, a single small, pretty, fresh chanterelle or morel for each portion, and then slice into a cute fan and float on top in each bowl.

Recipe Notes

Try adding dried chanterelles and morels to the soup. Very simple but good enough to serve as a small first course at a dinner party.