Healthy Mushroom Soup

A few weeks back I was at my mom’s house and she heated me up a bowl of mushroom soup. It was so good I had her send me the recipe right away. It’s an adaptation of the Balthazar Cream of Mushroom Soup. This recipe has fewer ingredients and is more healthy without the cream and butter.

These days I love keeping soup in the refrigerator so I can warm up a cup or bowl when I am running around like crazy and don’t have time to make a proper meal. Since the weather has yet to warm up I imagine I will be eating warm soup for lunch for at least a few more weeks…

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground rosemary
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 large sweet onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pound white button mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
• 6 cups chicken stock or water

Instructions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over a medium flame. When the oil is hot, add the dried herbs and sizzle for a few minutes to infuse the oil.
2. Add the onion, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent but not brown.
3. Turn the flame to high and add the mushrooms.
4. Cook for 10 minutes until mushrooms soften. Stir occasionally.
5. Add the chicken stock.
6. Simmer for 30 minutes. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender until smooth. Return to the pot and keep at a very low simmer until ready to serve.