Rustic Mushroom Bisque

This is a rich, flavorful and rustic soup my family just can’t get enough of

Every time we make this I can’t help but think of a rural French country side

There is just something homey and hearty about this soup that I know you will love it too

I use three different mushrooms for this

Shiitakes which hold some texture and give a meaty chew to the soup, cremini mushrooms which are softer and dried porcini which add a great earthy taste

Since the porcini mushrooms are dry you will need to reconstitute them in liquid

So let’s start there

We are using around 1 cup of dried porcinis

Bring about 2 cups of water to a boil and dump in the dried porcinis, remove from the heat and let the mushrooms steep for about 8 minutes

They will yield around a half cup when they are softened in the water

Strain the mushrooms reserving 1/2 cup of the mushroom liquid to add to our stock

Give the mushrooms a chop and set aside

Now let’s start working on the soup

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat

We are going to start building flavor in this soup with two of my favorite ingredients

1 large shallot and 4 slices of bacon

Peel and chop the shallot, cut the bacon down the center then then chop as well

Add the shallots and bacon to the pot

I’ll bet you can smell them cooking already!

Let these cook, stirring occasionally for around 6-8 minutes, or until the bacon has rendered down and is browned and crisp

While the shallots and bacon are cooking, let’s prep our mushrooms

We are starting with around 6 ounces of shiitake mushrooms

Remove the stems from the shiitakes as they are very fibrous and not good to eat

You can discard them or use them to flavor stocks

Remove any excess dirt off the caps with a dry paper towel and slice them up and set aside

Next let’s talk about the cremini (also spelled crimini) mushrooms

They are immature portabella mushrooms and can be brown or white

The brown cremini can also be labeled as “baby bellas” by a grocer to make them sound fancy

We are using around 12 ounces

As with the shiitakes you want to wipe off the excess dirt, unlike the shiitakes you can leave these stems on

Slice them up

Add the shiitake, cremini and porcini mushrooms into the pot and sprinkle with kosher salt and ground black pepper

Let these cook 5-6 minutes stirring occasionally

Next we will need 1 cup of dry white wine (like a Chardonnay) and 1/4 cup of flour

Add the white wine to the mushrooms and bring to a boil

Reduce the heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes to allow the alcohol to cook off stirring occasionally

The mushrooms will start to cook down nicely

Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of flour over the mushrooms

Stir this together and allow it to cook for 2-3 minutes to get the flour taste out

Next we are going to need 6 cups of beef stock, the 1/2 cup of reserved porcini liquid and 1 tablespoon of Gravy Master

Click on our link to make Homemade Beef Stock

Add the beef stock to the pot

Add in the porcini liquid and Gravy Master

Stir everyone together, cover and bring to a boil

Reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook 25 minutes

Next we will need 1 cup of heavy cream and around 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley

Add the cream to the soup and stir

Sprinkle with the parsley

Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes

Taste and adjust and seasonings

Between the flour we added earlier and the heavy cream the soup should tighten up, however if you want it thicker we can make a roux

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan

Whisk in 1/4 cup of flour

Cook until bubbly and lightly browned

Whisk a bit of this at a time into the soup until you get your desired thickness

Now this is a hearty, rich and rustic soup so we feel the addition of some brightness just makes it even better

We recommend a garnish of some lemon zest and chopped chives

Sprinkle a little zest and chives on a bowl of hearty soup and serve with some crusty bread!!!

Enjoy!!!

Tools used to make this recipe

Anchor Hocking 8 Cup Measuring Cup Glass Batter Bowl with Spout

Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven

Architec Carving Board, Gripperwood

Mini Prep Glass Bowl

ZELITE INFINITY Chef Knife 8 inch

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