During the dog days of summer along the Mid-Atlantic coast, when many are hoping for one more chance to hit the beach (or for our Jersey friends, head down the shore), those plans are often dampened by the overlapping hurricane season. Incidentally, the cool rain and heavy winds bring home that craving for comfort food that seems to take a vacation of its own all season. While it’s still a little early to break out the pumpkin spice, in light of the recent gloomy days we thought we’d share a retired, fan favorite, locally-inspired recipe that warms the soul and gets you in the mood for the chillier days to come. Our Regional Chef, Dan Bethard has scaled the recipe down for you to have on hand to make at home when its safe to give that A/C a break. We’re confident you can make it just as deliciously as we used to.
Kennett Square Mushroom Soup
Yield: 1 gallon
Ingredients:
- 5 lbs sliced white mushrooms
- 8 oz by weight, unsalted butter
- 2 cups white onions – small diced
- 1.5 cup celery – small diced
- 2 Tbs minced garlic
- .25 tsp dried thyme
- 2&1/4 cups flour
- 6 oz pale dry sherry wine, divided
- 10 cups vegetable broth
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 Tbs lemon juice
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 3 Tbs freshly minced parsley
- .25 tsp ground black pepper
- salt and pepper mix
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash the mushrooms in cold water, drain and divide between 2 large sheet pans. Spray with canola oil and season with salt and pepper mix. Place into the oven and cook until the mushrooms are properly roasted. Allow to cool.
2. Place butter, onions and celery into a medium/large sized, thick bottomed stock pot. Sauté the vegetables on medium high heat until the onions become translucent.
3. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 3 minutes longer. Do not brown.
4. Stir in the flour to make the roux and cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Place the vegetable broth and 2 oz of sherry into the pot and whisk to combine.
6. Add the mushrooms and stir to incorporate.
7. Cook for about 30-45 minutes, stirring often.
8. Puree the soup with a immersion blender, then whisk in the heavy cream, nutmeg, parsley, black pepper, lemon juice and 4 oz. of sherry wine.
9. Cook for about 5-10 minutes longer and check the seasoning.
10. Allow to cool properly before storing in the refrigerator.
