Mushroom Veloute (mushroom Soup)

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 1 onion, medium size, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons butter, unsalted
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup madeira wine or 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 1 quart chicken broth or 1 quart vegetable broth or 1 quart dried porcini mushroom broth
• 14 ounces mushrooms or 14 ounces cremini mushrooms, rinsed and dried
• 1 cup heavy cream
• salt
• pepper
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, lightly whipped

Recipe

• 1 prepare a veloute base by cooking the onion in a 4 quart pot over medium heat. stir almost continuously to prevent browning.
• 2 when the onion turns translucent (after about 10 minutes), add the flour.
• 3 stir over medium heat for 5 minutes more to cook out the starchy taste.
• 4 add the madiera (or sherry) and broth.
• 5 whisk the soup to get rid of any lumps, and bring it to a simmer.
• 6 simmer for 5 minutes.
• 7 put the mushrooms in a blender and add 1 cup of the hot soup base.
• 8 blend the mushrooms on high speed for about 2 minutes. (add a little more of the soup base, if necessary, to get them moving.).
• 9 put a strainer over the pot and pour the contents of the blender through it, into the the pot with the rest of the base.
• 10 add the cream. (if you want the soup perfectly smooth, strain it through a medium or fine mesh strainer.).
• 11 bring the soup back to a simmer and season it with salt and pepper.
• 12 ladle it into hot bowls and put a dollop of whipped cream on each serving.