Bourdains Mushroom Soup Food

CREAMY MUSHROOM SOUP

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a pot over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted, add a third of the mushrooms to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until dark golden brown, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then remove them from the pot and reserve for serving.
• In the same pot, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Reduce the heat to medium and, when the butter has melted, add the rest of the mushrooms, along with the garlic, celery, thyme and onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Sprinkle the vegetables with the flour and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, then cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes, allowing the flour to cook.
• Slowly pour in the sherry, stirring all the time, then slowly add the stock. Keep stirring to reduce the likelihood of lumps. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced and thickened, about 20 minutes.
• Using an immersion blender, puree until the mushrooms are mostly broken up into small barley-sized bits. (NOTE: You may use a blender, though allow the soup to cool until warm before pureeing.) Add the cream and heat until the pot is simmering. Add the balsamic, then taste and adjust the seasonings.
• Serve warm in bowls with the reserved mushrooms on top. Garnish with parsley and crusty chunks of warm bread.

MUSHROOM SOUP

Steps:

• Method
• In the medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons/28 g of the butter over medium 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 parsley 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 that thing from flying off and allowing boiling hot mushroom purée to erupt all over your kitchen?
• When blended, return the mix to the pot, season with salt and pepper, and bring up to a simmer again. Add the sherry, mix well, and serve immediately.
• Improvisation
• To astound your guests with a Wild Mushroom Soup, simply replace some of those button mushrooms with a few dried cèpes or morels, which have been soaked until soft, drained, and squeezed. Not too many; the dried mushrooms 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.
• And if you really want to ratchet your soup into pretentious (but delicious), drizzle a few tiny drops of truffle oil over the surface just before serving. Why the hell not? Everybody else is doing it.