Creamy Mushroom Soup

I don't know about you but I sure do love mushrooms, I know, quite a few people in this world do not think fondly of the edible fungi. I remember my oldest brother growing up would say "Why would I eat something that can grow on my feet". I am telling you I knew even back then that he was missing out!

Mushrooms come in so many varieties, with all the varieties comes different depths of flavour and what you can do with them. Mushrooms are a great replacement for meat in a lot of vegan and vegetarian meals, I know I love a good portobello mushroom burger! One of my favorite appetizers to bring to a party is stuffed mushrooms, I will have to share that recipe with you another day... they are always gone within 5 minutes!

If you don't like mushrooms then you are wrong... no I am kidding but maybe give them another try! One of my favorite restaurants I talked about before is RauDZ, they serve you mushrooms that are cooked in duck fat and then served with this duck fat mayo. It is so unbelievably tasty that just thinking about it makes me want to make the 6 hour trek home to eat it!

One way I love to cook mushrooms for burgers or on the side to go with steak is to cook them in butter till they start to brown and then add some balsamic vinegar and cook till it is reduced. Man I am telling you, it just adds a nice element to your burgers or on top of your steak!

This recipe I am about to share is something I just threw together. I was really wanting a soup, especially because my family has had a stomach bug, so something comforting and easier on the tummy is what I was in search for. I looked in my fully stocked fridge and realized there were a few things I needed to use soon. My mushrooms I needed to get a move on cooking them, along with a package of goat cheese and some sage. Doesn't that sound like a great start to something good! I did think about make a filling for some pasta but decided on the soup, but I will tell you that before adding the liquid it would make a great ravioli filling!

Creamy Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

12 large Cremini mushrooms
2 large cloves of garlic
1 medium white onion
12 fresh sage leaves
5 cups of beef stock
1/2 cup of uncooked brown rice
1/3 cup of salted butter
4 ounces of fresh goat cheese chevre 
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Wash the mushrooms, remove all the dirt off of them. Trim off some of the stem, and then thinly slice the mushrooms. Or you can have various thickness to add a more rustic look to the soup.

Dice the the onion into smaller dices, slice the garlic into thin slices as well. I didn't mince the garlic because I liked the rustic hearty approach to this soup.

In a enamel lined cast iron pot or in a regular stock pot, heat up the butter until it is frothy looking and all melted.  Add the mushrooms, onions and garlic. Evenly coat with the butter and then stir often and cook down the mushrooms until they are starting to turn slightly brown and almost all the moisture has evaporated. 

When it reaches that stage add the beef broth and sage. Stir all together, bring the liquid to a simmer or slight boil. Add salt, pepper and rice. Taste the broth and if it needs more seasoning add it, remember that the goat cheese is quite salty so maybe hold off on more salt until after adding the cheese.

Keep the soup at a simmer until the rice is cooked. Once the rice is cooked slowly incorporate the goat cheese by adding a bit at a time, stirring it until it is melted in. Once all of the cheese is added try the soup again and add more seasoning if needed. 

Cook for an additional 5 minutes and then serve right away. 
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My favorite part about this soup is the subtle flavors of the sage and goat cheese. I found it didn't over power the mushrooms but enhanced it all. What is wonderful about it also is that it has that bit of creaminess you want in a soup without it being heavy laden with fat. 

I hope you enjoy this soup as much as I did, it was a nice hearty soup that didn't make me feel weighed down afterwards. Plus bonus I used up ingredients in my fridge that needed to be used up so no waste!

Enjoy!

Happy cooking!