Made From Scratch: Cream of Mushroom Soup

A recipe I made recently called for a can of cream of mushroom soup. However, I wasn't too enthused about the long list of ingredients I found on the cans of different brands of soup at the grocery store. So I decided, what the heck, I'll make my own. How hard can it be, anyway? Cream of mushroom soup is basically just a bechamel (white sauce made with milk, butter, and flour) with some sauteed mushrooms in it. And seriously, it is pretty simple to make. I encourage you to skip the canned stuff next time you need cream of mushroom soup and make your own!

Cream of Mushroom Soup (printer-friendly version)

makes about 1 1/2 cups

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 cup sliced portobello mushrooms, chopped

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup organic vegetable broth

1/2 cup organic heavy cream

1/2 cup organic skim milk

fine sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the chopped portobello mushrooms until softened, about five minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the heat and set aside.

2. Heat a small sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add the unsalted butter and cook until melted.

3. Once the butter has melted, stir in the flour.

4. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the veggie broth, heavy cream, and milk. Continue stirring until the mixture is smooth.

5. Return the saucepot to the heat. Stir in the sauteed mushrooms.

6. Bring the mixture to a slow boil. Whisk constantly and continue stirring until the mixture thickens.

7. Season with salt and/or pepper to taste.

8. Remove from the heat. Use immediately or let cool and store in a closed container in the fridge.