Golden Cream of Mushroom Soup with Creme Fraiche & Crispy Shallots

 Last week,  I impulsively bought large Portobello mushrooms,(which became a delicious Mushroom Bourguignon), and a package of pre-sliced cremini mushrooms.

Did you know that pre-sliced mushrooms cost the same as whole mushrooms? For the longest time, I  never noticed that. Now, I'll gladly skip doing the work, if I can! The only challenge with pre-sliced mushrooms is that you need to use them pretty quickly-- or they'll start to go south.

I created this soup by foraging through the vegetable pantry, and realizing I'd better make use of these creminis (which are baby portobellos) before they expired.  Dinner was ready in less than 45 minutes, and I had to write down how I created this soup right away. If I do say so, myself-- this was an excellent soup!  Let's begin, shall we?

Ah, shallots! I love them. Shallots aren't as overpowering as onion. I just think they're a pretty color.
So I sliced three smallish shallots. 1/3 of the shallots I cooked in a little olive oil until crispy, and then set them on a paper towel. Easy enough?

In a pot, I added a little olive oil and a small pat of unsalted butter and cooked the cremini mushrooms for a few minutes-- until slightly golden brown. I removed the cooked mushrooms into a bowl, and set it aside.

In the same pot, I added a little more olive oil (just enough to coat the pan) and cooked the shallots until just tender. I added the garlic and cooked it for about a minute-- just until fragrant. Next,  I added some dried thyme (my thyme plant is looking very pitiful right now), a little kosher salt & pepper and then about 2 tablespoons of flour-- that I cooked for about a minute.

I added some tomato paste (about 1 Tbsp.), some Golden Sherry (you could use white wine...or no booze at all), and a splash of the chicken stock and stirred it. Yes, it was looking nice a thick and it smelled so promising. I added the last of the chicken stock (32 oz total). You could use a mushroom or vegetable stock, if you want to go completely vegetarian.

I tasted the soup for seasoning, and it was pretty spot on! I let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes.

I am so thankful for my immersion blender that I bought many years ago for practically nothing. I think it's so much easier to puree soups in the pot-- but, you can puree this in batches in a blender. Knock yourself out! If you don't own an immersion blender, and you like making soups as much as I do... it's a great investment.
I pureed the mushrooms to leave small chunks. If you want it super creamy, that's okay too.
Now, add some heavy cream. I didn't measure, but I'd guess I added 1/4 cup of heavy cream and 1/4 cup of half and half.   Dinner' ready!  Soup, salad & bread...

For a nice touch, garnish this with some creme fraiche and the crispy shallots.

My personal touch is that I add a squeeze of fresh lemon to all my creamy soups. It's so good!

My husband is not a huge fan of mushrooms. Me? I love them.

Guess what? Craig and two helpings of this soup and said it was excellent.  I was pleased to hear that, because Cream of Mushroom soup is one of my very favorites-- if it's homemade. That stuff that falls out of can in a glop... no, that I don't like at all.

A printable recipe is at the bottom of this post. I'm going to submit this soup to Deb's recipe roundup:

Every Sunday, Deb posts blogger recipes for soups, stews, salads and sandwiches on her blog-- Kahakai Kitchen. I hope to see one of your recipes on her website, too. For details, click here.

I promise that I'm out of mushrooms for now. I have more recipes to come, as soon as I slow down my busy life at the office!