This was my first attempt at making mushroom soup from scratch - well, with vegetable broth. All from vegetables I got from the farmer’s market (I usually go on weekends). Up until now, I only made Butternut squash soup, and these are pretty good, so I decided to expand a bit.

To make it, I used:

  • 5 King Oyster Mushrooms
  • 1 small yellow onion
  • 4 regular Yukon potatoes (1 large, 3 small ones)
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • Fresh Parsley (a few leaves, about a spoonful)
  • Olive oil (about 1/3 of a cup)
  • Water + vegetable vegan broth

I wanted to create a creamy-like soup, and I thought the potatoes would work. They did, and it made a good thick soup.

To prepare any soup, I usually work from the “hard” veggies that need more cooking toward the soft ones. In this case, the diced potatoes (big chunks, each potato cut three to four times) went in first with the garlic and onion, and let it stay on medium-high heat (not boiling) for about 10 minutes. It’s important to remember that for this kind of thick soup, the liquid (water+oil+broth) should not cover the vegetables completely. I’d say about up to 2/3 or so, maybe a little more. Less liquid = more thickness, naturally.

The potatoes got soft fast. I added the chopped parsley and mushrooms next for another 5 minutes or so, adding salt and some black pepper - I wanted the most basic ingredients, since I wanted to taste the basic soup first, building on that and thinking what to add later.

After everything was ready (give or take the 15-18 minute zone), I poured it into my blender in two batches (too much for one batch). The Vitamix makes quick work of everything in seconds, but I let it run for about 20 seconds, then poured the thick, yellowish-cream mixture into a bowl.

The soup was hearty and good, very easy to make. For next time, I took a couple of notes:

  • The consistency was good, but I want to improve on the mushroom flavor. I should increase the amount of mushrooms, probably from 5 to 8 to try.

  • For texture and flavor, I want to try chopped mushrooms at the end after the blender phase. I could also use a different kind of mushrooms for this finish, perhaps.

  • Some recipes I found suggested using fennel. After tasting this soup, especially with king oyster mushrooms, I tend to agree. I think it would add a good flavor.

  • Salt and black pepper were a good idea. I have a lot of spices, but this soup is good in its basic form, and I think that if I were to add anything too sophisticated, it would take away from the mushroom flavor.