So, the other day Mr. C. returned from grocery shopping with a bag of fresh chanterelle mushrooms. Oh my, now what to do with these gastronomic treasures? Well, the first thing that came to mind was soup. So, not already having a recipe for the likes of these beauties, I went on-line to see if I could find just the perfect recipe. And by golly, there it was on the seriouseats.com site. OK, I changed a thing or two, but the recipe basics are still there. So, thank you J. Kenji López-Alt for this marvelous recipe.

Now, the first thing you might notice is that this creamy soup has no cream in it. Hurray for that. It does however have quite a bit of butter. You simply can’t have soup with the kind of flavor this recipe produces without a bit of fat. But at least, it doesn’t have both butter and cream. So, that’s certainly a redeeming feature.

What is does have is an abundance of flavor and a wonderful mouth feel. So, while it’s still chanterelle season, I recommend you make this soup ASAP.

So, without further ado, I present you with a recipe for soup at its finest. And as always, peace and love to all.

¾ – 1 lb. chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and chopped into small pieces

1 qt. chicken broth

5 T. unsalted butter, divided

2 med. shallots, minced

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 T. flour

½ c. dry sherry

1 qt. chicken broth

1 lg. or 2 sm. bay leaves

1/8 tsp. dried thyme 

¼ tsp. kosher salt, or more to taste

freshly ground black pepper

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium sized soup pan over medium heat. Add the minced shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until very soft but not browned, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add 1 more tablespoon of butter and the chopped mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until excess liquid evaporates, and mushrooms start to sizzle, about 10 minutes. Add the flour and stir to incorporate. Cook for 30 seconds.

Add sherry and cook, stirring constantly and scraping bottom of pan, until the sherry is thick and syrupy, about 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, bay leaf, thyme, salt, and pepper.

Bring the soup to a simmer and adjust heat to maintain a low simmer. Cover the pan and simmer for 30 minutes. Discard bay leaf and using an immersion blender, add the 2 more tablespoons of the butter and whirl until the soup is completely smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.

To serve, ladle soup into soup bowls and top with homemade croutons. See recipe below.

Easy Garlic Croutons:

1 T. butter or extra virgin olive oil (or a combination)

2-3 c. cubed crusty, chewy bread

granulated garlic

Melt butter or olive oil in a large sauté pan. Add bread cubes and slowly sauté until crunchy and browned. (This takes upward of 45 minutes, so plan to make croutons when you are working on other dishes and are close at hand.) Stir frequently. When the bread cubes are golden brown and crunchy, lightly sprinkle with granulated garlic. Cool and store in an airtight container.