Friday's Fixin's: Mushroom Soup

After my surgery last year, I went into this never-before-experienced place where unless someone nudged me, I literally forgot to eat.  Never even entered my mind. Until then, I never believed all of those skinny girls who would say (in high pitched voices):  “I forgot to eat!”  Yeah, right, WTF?  Who “forgets” to eat?  I thought the notion ridiculous!  I found myself eating those words (pun intended). The only thing I was inclined to eat (when reminded) was soup. I had never really been a soup person, but last year my body started asking for soup and never really stopped.

Even though these days I have NO PROBLEM remembering to eat (and, in fact, need to cut back a tad!), I still love soup. It is nutrient dense, delish, low fat and filling (Silver Lining).

I’m a big fan of mushrooms…and cooking classes. So when I was invited to a cooking class WITH a mushroom soup, I jumped at the chance to learn another great recipe.  This one, as all of the ones on The Silver Pen, is easy peasy.  I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

I didn’t realize that the soup color actually matches the table…perhaps doesn’t make it appear as appetizing as it really is…just sayin’…

Mushroom Soup by Jamie Oliver

 Ingredients

• Package of dried porcini
• Olive oil
• 1lb mixed fresh wild mushrooms (chanterelles, crimini, shitake, oyster), cleaned and sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 tbsp butter (I use the vegan brand Earth Balance)
• A handful of fresh thyme, leaves picked
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 ¾ pints chicken or vegetable stock (I use vegetable stock)
• A handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese (optional – not for me)
• Optional: truffle oil

Instructions:

1. Place the porcini in small dish, add boiling water just to cover, and leave to soak.
2. Get a large casserole-type pan nice and hot, then add a good couple of lugs of olive oil and your fresh mushrooms.
3. Stir around very quickly for a minute, then add your garlic, onion, butter and thyme and a small amount of seasoning.
4. After about a minute you’ll probably notice moisture cooking out of the mushrooms and at this point add half of your porcini, chopped up, and the rest left whole.
5. Strain the soaking liquid to remove any grit, and add it to the pan.
6. Carry on cooking for about 20 minutes until most of the moisture disappears.
7. Season to taste, and add your stock.
8. Bring to boil and simmer for around 20 minutes.
9. I usually remove half the soup from the pan and whiz is up to a puree at this point, then pour it back in, adding the parsley (this is where you can add the mascarpone) and seasoning carefully to taste.

There are so many Silver Lined benefits to eating mushrooms:

1. Lowfat: Mushrooms contain about 80 to 90 percent water, and are very low in calories (only 100 cal/oz). They have very little sodium and fat, and 8 to 10 percent of the dry weight is fiber.
2. Potassium: Mushrooms are an excellent source of potassium, a mineral that helps lower elevated blood pressure and reduces the risk of stroke. One medium portabella mushroom has even more potassium than a banana or a glass of orange juice. One serving of mushrooms also provides about 20 to 40 percent of the daily value of copper, a mineral that has cardioprotective properties.  (This will be helpful for me because one of the chemotherapies that I am on is cardioTOXIC, meaning potentially harmful to the heart.  Chemotherapy kills not only cancer cells, but also good cells.
3. Riboflavin, Niacin and Selenium. Mushrooms are a rich source of riboflavin, niacin, and selenium. Selenium is an antioxidant that works with vitamin E to protect cells from the damaging effects of free radicals.Selenium is also very good for health of bones, teeth, nails, hair and as an anti oxidant
4. Immunity: Ergothioneine, a powerful anti oxidant present in mushrooms is very effective in giving protection from free radicals as well as boosting up immunity. Mushrooms contain natural antibiotics (similar to penicillin, which itself is extracted from mushrooms) which inhibit microbial and other fungal infections. They also help heal ulcers and ulcerous wounds and protect them from infections. A good combination of vitamins A, B-Complex and C, found in mushrooms also strengthens immune system.
5. Other Benefits: Mushrooms are the only vegetable and the second known source (after cod liver oil) to contain vitamin-D in edible form. They are rich in calcium (good for bones), iron (benefits in anemia), and copper (anti bacterial).

Enjoy!