Wine Spectator Online Wine Spectator Forums Dining and Cooking Perfecting a recipe - cream of mushroom soup - and - To wash, or not to wash
Wine Spectator Forums Dining and Cooking Perfecting a recipe - cream of mushroom soup - and - To wash, or not to wash|
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This winter, I've been making one of my favourite comfort foods - cream of mushroom soup. Like with most recipes, before I make it, I check through a number of recipes in cookbooks and online. I'll find what I think are going to be the best ingredients and preparation and give it a stab. Most of the time it turns out pretty well and I make little changes over the years.
This soup turned out so well, and I vowed not to eat out so much saving for a month in Tuscany this year, that I've been making a batch every couple of weeks. To that end, I've really tried to get this just right and yesterday the stars aligned. The soup was so good that I decided to make it a special lunch with my wife. We served the soup with a baguette, duck-cognac pate, goat's cheese, thinly sliced coppa crudo and a Santa Rita Pinot Noir. Fantastic lunch. Here's the recipe if anyone wants to try it: Cream of Mushroom Soup 5-6 servings 5 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms 10 ounces fresh cremini (or porcini) mushrooms 1 tablespoon good olive oil 1/4 pound (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided 1 cup chopped yellow onion 1 carrot, chopped 1 sprig fresh thyme plus 1 teaspoon minced thyme leaves, divided Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks) 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 cup dry white wine ¼ cup sherry 1/2 cup half-and-half or whipping cream (depending on your cholesterol score - thanks RD Collins) 1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley Clean the mushrooms by wiping them with a dry paper towel. Separate the stems, trim off any bad parts, and coarsely chop the stems. Slice the mushroom caps 1/8-inch thick and, if there are big, cut them into bite-sized pieces. Set aside. To make the stock, heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large pot. Add the chopped mushroom stems, the onion, carrot, the sprig of thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add 6 cups water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 90 minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid. You should have about 4 1/2 cups of stock. Pacific organic mushroom stock is also a pretty good substitute or addition. Meanwhile, in another large pot, heat the 2 tablespoons of butter and add the leeks. Cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the leeks begin to brown. Add half of the sliced mushroom caps and cook for 10 minutes, or until they are browned and tender. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and stir for another minute, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the mushroom stock, minced thyme leaves, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Pulse in food processor until smooth Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and cook the remaining mushrooms for 10 minutes, or until they are browned and tender. Deglaze with sherry and season with salt and pepper. Add stock back into pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the half-and-half, cream, and parsley, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and heat through but do not boil. Any recipes that you've been working through that you'd like to share? This message has been edited. Last edited by: conscious, |
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Lorrie's technique is much faster...
 Sounds seriously good, conscious. Will give it a try. PH |
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And works well in recipes....
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Your recipe looks great! I'll be sure to give it a try. You should write an article on the development of the final version and submit it to Cook's.
Three comments: 1. Not to start a debate or anything like that, but IMHO the commandment that fresh mushrooms should not be washed is pretty much an old wives' tale, although one based on dated advice from Larousse Gastronmique. Modern sources that I've checked, including Julia Child, Marcella Hazan, Craig Clairborne, James Beard, and Joy of Cooking, all say to wash mushrooms before cooking them, especially if they're obviously dirty. After all, they grow in...well, stuff I prefer not to have in my food. Some people are concerned that they will absorb a lot of water, but I find that's untrue, that they can be dried on paper towels anyway, and any excess water quickly cooks away. 2. I would suggest that you use cream rather than half-and-half, or half cream and half milk. Commercial half-and-half is more likely to curdle when cooked, and some contains ingredients other than milk and cream. 3. You write a good, clear recipe. I'm shocked at how bad the directions are in many cookbooks. Doug Collins Hermosa Beach, California |
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Thanks for the comments, all.
PH, you crack me up and Lorrie, I've gotta respect your good humour through all the wise cracks. You're like a Timex. RD, thanks for your praise (I really swiped most of the recipe from other sources so I shouldn't take the credit) and I've gone back and edited my original post based on your comments. While I still think, wiping rather than washing mushrooms makes a difference, I shouldn't admonish. In addition, I added the heavy cream as an option and it reminded me to reduce the amount. I found that the more cream I added, the more watered down the mushroom flavour. How 'bout you guys - don't you have a killer recipe that you've been perfecting all these years? Lorrie, surely you have something you've done with frozen vegetables....  . Sorry, I couldn't resist. |
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I've posted a bunch, among them, steak aux poivres, Chinese dumplings, Vichyssoise, pan-seared magret with green peppercorn sauce...
Just one more sip. |
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Hey, I was trying to provoke a fight! You're no fun at all.
I've got tons of recipes I've tweaked over the years -- waddaya like? Doug Collins Hermosa Beach, California |
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So is Campbells Open can, pour in milk and simmer.... It actually says "Bella Donna Friendly" |
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Sorry RD, I'm a lover, not a fighter - except if I have to drop my hockey gloves.
"Link it up Mott". Being a newb, I've probably missed most of the ones you've posted. If you can list some good ones like Board-O did, I can search them myself. BTW, thanks Board-O - I've seen and made the Vichyssoise, but not the dumplings or the poivres sauces - can't wait! This message has been edited. Last edited by: conscious, |
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I was always taught to wipe the mushroom off with a damp cloth, removing obvious dirt but never to run under water or rinse. Could just be technique.
-------------------------------- calix meus inebrians. disce quasi semper victurus vive quasi cras moriturus. |
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Board-O's Vichyssoise is one of the best soups I have made. It always draws compliments and requests. __________________________ Alta is for skiers! |
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I was taught that, too, but it never made any sense to me, especially when the mushrooms are consumed raw in salads or as crudités. I generally try to avoid eating dirt or cow poop, even if it supposedly has been sterilized. Not everyone agrees, but then some still think the world is flat. Try Googling "washing mushrooms" for more on this exciting topic. This message has been edited. Last edited by: RDCollins, Doug Collins Hermosa Beach, California |
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It's actually pretty easy to prove/disprove. I did this a few years back, as I'd always been advised to do the wipe but don't rinse or soak recipe and was suspicious.
Weigh your mushrooms. Clean by rinsing under running water, shake dry and re-weigh. Virtually no difference. Mushrooms are 80-90% water in the first place, so it's not like there's much of a sponge effect. PH |
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Wow, is that ever wrong. It's amazing the disinformation one can find on the internet. I grill Portobello caps frequently. If you wash both sides with water, they are much heavier afterwards. Much. I try to wash them a day in advance, then let them dry face up on a paper towel. By the way, if you like to grill them, after they have dried, poach them in chicken broth, then sprinkle the underside with some sea salt, minced garlic, and any other speices you like. Grill them top down. They are excellent this way. Just one more sip. |
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I suspect PH was referring to "regular" mushrooms, the common white and brown variety used in most cooking. Portobellos are pretty much just over-grown brown mushrooms that have opened fully. Whether they absorb water when rinsed depends on their condition -- most of the grocery-store variety are a bit dried out, so of course they absorb liquid like a sponge. Better soy or olive oil than water. Anyway, in my experience, all opened mushrooms will absorb some water as they are partially dried out. Best to select the ones that are tightly closed. Doug Collins Hermosa Beach, California |
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Alton Brown once did a show about mushrooms. After his whiz-kid experiments, he concluded mushrooms do not soak up enough liquid to merit the "don't wash" label.
And conscious, I'm going to have to try this recipe soon. Sounds great! *********** You never see crazy people walking the streets, screaming about atheism, do you? |
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You suspected correctly. Plenty of other varieties can be rinsed without any harm as well. I think the cranky dentist picked the only variety that comes to mind that might pick up some additional water weight from being rinsed. I'm thinking that a good shaking off would probably remove most of the water from the gills of a portabello as well. Next time I make some grilled portabello sandwiches, I'll run a little experiment. PH |
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 What are you talking about? I ran this experiment personally, using white mushrooms and a digital kitchen scale. 1 lb. of mushrooms picked up less than 1/4 oz. of water after being rinsed off and shook dry. Amazing the arrogance one can find on the internet.  PH |
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if using button mushrooms that are closed they should not hold much to any water!
when using portotbello's meat side on the grill you can see water in the gills!  |
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Even assuming for the sake of argument that washed mushrooms absorb their weight in water, I can't see how that would make a whit of difference -- unless you were to eat them raw. Cooking forces mushrooms to release their juices and eventually will evaporate any water, whether from the mushrooms or from washing them. If there is some loss of flavor, say from spores that are washed away or something, it would seem insignificant, more theoretical than real, and justified by the loss of the "barnyard" flavors imparted by the dirt, mulch, and animal excrement in which they're grown. Doug Collins Hermosa Beach, California |
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Wow, did this thread take a left turn! Can I edit the title to "The great mushroom debate"?
Reading where mushrooms are grown and how they should washed reminds me of Bruce Willis' cameo in Fast Food Nation where he wasn't concerned about the amount of ______ in the meat, because it would all be cooked off on the grill. I can still remember the look on Greg Kinnear's face as Willis was setting him straight. One thing that makes me hesitate when washing the mushrooms is that I usually want to sauté them to get some colour into them and get the water out. I have heard that you really want a very dry item to sauté otherwise they tend to stew and lack colour. I'm too lazy to wash then dry them. |
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If they're wet, the mushrooms may spatter a bit when you sauté them. However, even if they're dry, they release their own juices and they don't gain the color or nice flavor until the released juices have evaporated. It doesn't make any difference if they're wet, except the water has to cook away, too. No??? Lefty.  Doug Collins Hermosa Beach, California |
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