Golden Cream of Mushroom Soup with Crispy Shallots

By Foodiewife

Golden Sherry is what gives this soup a grown-up taste. The criminis, and a little tomato paste, develops into a beautiful color for this flavorful soup. This soup was ready to eat in under 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 6 to 8 ounces crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 3 small shallots, sliced thin
• 1 teaspoon thyme, dried or fresh
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 4 cups chicken stock, or vegetable or mushroom stock
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
• 2 to 3 tablespoons Golden Sherry (optional, but makes this taste fantastic) or dry white wine
• Creme fraîche for garnish

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 10mins
Cooking time 25mins
Adapted from foodiewife-kitchen.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

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.