Creamy Swedish mushroom soup

Credit: Catherine Pohl, BSc (Hons), DipION, nutritional therapist and health coach | catherinepohl.com | @Catherinepohlnutrition

Catherine says:  “I love to add more Swedish flavour in the form of some gently cooked lingonberries (similar in flavour to cranberries) –  this gives the dish a bit of a sour contrast bite. I also drizzle on some extra cream and sprinkle with a little more thyme if I am using fresh, and of course more black pepper.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• Generous knob of butter (large tbsp size)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed or diced
• 3 tsp dried thyme, or 6-8 stems of fresh
• 60g dried or 600g fresh mushrooms (nutty brown mushrooms or porcini are great, but any will do)
• Approx. 1 – 1.3 litres stock (mushroom, vegetable or chicken stock all work well)
• 300ml cream
• Salt and pepper to season
• More cream, lingonberries, thyme, salt and pepper to garnish

Method

1. If you are using dried mushrooms, start by soaking them in hot stock. If you are using fresh, clean and slice them. Once soaked for 10 minutes, remove half of the dried (now rehydrated) mushrooms from the stock and set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a large pan and gently fry the onion, garlic and thyme for about 4 minutes on a medium heat, stirring to ensure they cook to translucent and don’t stick and burn. Season with some salt and black pepper, then add the mushrooms, and if using fresh, gently fry these too until they are soft (the rehydrated ones won’t take much time).
3. Put 1 litre of the stock and remaining mushrooms in a blender and blitz to a beautiful thick mushroomy stock, then pour this over the cooked onion and mushroom mix.
4. Bring the soup up to almost boiling and if the consistency is a bit thick for your taste, add up to 300ml extra stock to thin it out (the consistency can vary depending on the type of mushroom you use).
5. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, then add the cream and cook for a further 5 minutes.
6. Taste and season with more salt and pepper and you are ready to serve.

About Catherine

Catherine is a nutritional therapist and health coach based in the icy north of Sweden where she also runs nature-based and wild food retreats. She is passionate about helping her clients with food, lifestyle and mindset strategies to live their very best lives.

Discover more healthy and delicious recipes here.