Creamy mushroom soup with chive and garlic

Creamy mushroom soup with chive and garlic: Cream of mushroom soup was proclaimed by the Queen of England as “a nice dish”.

If you enjoy soup then this one is easy to make, full of great ingredients and makes a substantial meal for brunch, lunch or dinner. Creamy mushroom, chive and garlic soup is a wonderful collection of flavours.

For many years Italian and French chefs have put Béchamel sauce at the heart of many creamy soups. Did you know that Louis de Béchamel, Marquis de Nointel, grand chamberlain of King Louis XIV (sec. XVII), gave his name to his creation, the béchamel (white sauce), whose use is now widespread throughout the world. However, the Italians have laid claim to the origin of Béchamel sauce as being Tuscan ‘salsa colla‘, glue sauce. So called because the sauce was used to bind ingredients withing a dish. The sauce made its way to France with the arrival in Paris of Catherine de Medici, wife of King Henry II.  The new queen of France, came to the court of Paris with various chefs who introduced some traditional Tuscan dishes.

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In the United States in 1934, the company Campbell introduced their condensed cream of mushroom soup in a can and since then it is used as a general ingredient for all sorts of recipes.

Every time we make our creamy mushroom, chive and garlic soup, you just can’t get enough of it so we are going to show you how it’s done.

Creamy mushroom soup with chives and garlic: Serves 4

• 4 oz (110 g) mixed mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1 oz (25 g) butter
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium clove garlic, crushed
• 2 fl oz dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons fresh chives, roughly chopped
• 5 fl oz (150 ml) milk
• 5 fl oz (150 ml) water
• 5 fl oz whipping (single) cream
• 1 level teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. First of all wipe the mushrooms clean with some damp kitchen paper if necessary.
2. Over a low to medium heat, add the butter, onion and garlic then cook for up to 5 minutes until the onions have softened.
3. Add the wine, salt and pepper and cook until the wine has reduced by half.
4. Add the mushrooms and the thyme, then continue cooking for a further 5 minutes. The mushrooms will release their juices and begin to reabsorb it, including all the other flavours in the pan.
5. Once the pan begins to dry, add the milk and water then bring everything to a boil, slowly. Stir constantly and allow to simmer for a further 5 minutes.
6. Take half of the soup and blend it to a purée. This will help thicken the soup without adding any flour.
7. Add the puréed soup back to the pan, check the seasoning and gently reheat.
8. Just before you remove the soup from the heat, add the cream and stir it in well (don’t allow it to boil).
9. Check the seasoning.
10. Serve topped with the fresh chives.