“Cooking is a craft, I like to think, and a good cook is a craftsman — not an artist. There’s nothing wrong with that: the great cathedrals of Europe were built by craftsmen — though not designed by them. Practicing your craft in expert fashion is noble, honorable and satisfying.”
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This is the little black dress of mushroom soups–a simple but elegant little soup you need in your repertoire when, for whatever reason, you need a fast recipe worthy of guests.
This recipe is adapted from one that appears in Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook. You can find the cookbook at your local bookstore or on Amazon here.
Mushroom Soup With Sherry
August 4, 2023
Ingredients
- 6 T. butter
- 1 onion (thinly sliced)
- 12 ounces cremini or white mushrooms (halved)
- 4 C. vegetable stock
- 2 oz. sherry
- Salt and Pepper
- Parsley and cream for garnish
Directions
- Step 1 Sauté sliced onions in half the butter until the onions are soft.
- Step 2 Add remaining butter to the pot with the onions, add mushrooms and the mushroom/onion mixture for about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Step 3 Add stock. Stir stock in put to dislodge bits of browned onions and mushrooms from the bottom of the soup pot. These crispy bits are called the fond. Bring this mixture to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Simmer for about an hour.
- Step 4 Cool soup a bit and then puree in your blender until it is smooth. Return the soup to the soup pot and bring the soup to a simmer. Add the sherry. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in cream to your taste and serve.
- Step 5 Cook’s Note: Here is what The Food Network has to say about fond: “The term fond refers to the caramelized bits left in the bottom of a pan after you’ve browned meat or vegetables. Heat changes proteins and carbohydrates in ways that make them fall apart and regroup in browned, flavorful bits. When you sear a steak, you are creating a flavorful crust on the meat itself via a process called the Maillard reaction: the breaking down of the protein. As the temperature in the pan increases, the carbohydrates in meat will caramelize, adding more browning. Likewise, when you bake chicken or turkey, the juices drip down and transform into fond on your roasting pan. When vegetables brown, that’s due to caramelization. Either way, when you deglaze a fond by adding a small amount of liquid and scraping the bottom of the pan, it adds lots of flavor to sauces, soups, braises or other dishes.”
