We got a very large basket of chestnut mushrooms this week at the local market. A recipe was needed and after the usual iterations we got the balance of flavours right.
This delicious creamy chestnut mushroom soup is Dairy free and Gluten free and takes only 20 minutes to prep and another 5 or 6 minutes to cook. It uses nuts & seeds and a vitamix high speed blender to make it creamy.
As we have been consuming copious amounts of our favourite leek soup recipe lately which uses cashew nuts for its creamy texture we have used a nut and seed mixture for creaminess here - in the interest of having a more balanced diet! If you only have cashews then the hemp and sunflower seeds can be replaced with cashews.
If using the sunflower seeds they need to be soaked for 15 minutes in boiling water and then rinsed twice and drained before using to get a more neutral flavour. We do this first to save overall prep time.
Ingredients
500ml filtered water
100g chestnut mushrooms (wiped, no need to chop)
100g closed cup or button mushrooms (whole and wiped, peel if not fresh)
125g carrot (peeled and chopped)
60g leek (chopped from white stalk)
50g sunflower seeds (dry weight) soaked & rinsed as described above
50g hulled hemp seeds
50g unsalted cashew nuts
2/3 Kallo organic stock cube
1 tbsp masala wine
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp worcester sauce
1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/8 tsp dried garlic
Freshly ground black pepper (40 grinds of hand grinder or to taste)
Pinch or two of freshly ground nutmeg (5 grinds of hand grinder or to taste)
2-3g fresh flat leaved parsley (loosely packed quarter cup)
Method
Put all the ingredients into a high speed blender capable of heating to make soup. Set on soup mode or crank gradually up to full speed and blend until hot. Usually 5-8 minutes.
Taste to adjust the seasoning.
Serve immediately in warm bowls with an extra dash of Worcester sauce.
Serves 3 - 5
