Creamy Vegan Mushroom Soup
This comforting mushroom soup recipe is vegan friendly and really easy to make. Using garlic, oregano, thyme and smoked paprika it picks up flavours from the Mediterranean but with a smokey kick. Perfect for autumn nights, lets take a look at the recipe below.
Recipe Breakdown
Wild Mushrooms – Choosing wild mushrooms for this dish will give a slight variation in flavour and texture just from the mushrooms alone. I used a mix of oyster, chestnut and shiitake within this soup.
Herbs- Using mediterranean herbs such as oregano, basil, and thyme with a little touch of smoked paprika adds a really beautiful depth of flavour. When you’re frying the mushrooms, onion and garlic in the herbs and oil it smells INCREDIBLE.
Cream- Traditionally with this soup you need a heavy cream which is basically a cream that has a higher fat content. There are loads of ‘creams’ within the plant based market at the moment so whether you use a soy based cream, or an oat based cream it will work. I used Oatly single cream in this. When I add the butter to the recipe is helps thicken this as though it were a ‘heavy’ cream.
Cornflour- This is a brilliant ingredient. Naturally gluten free and brilliant at thickening soups and stocks. I added around 1tbsp to thicken this up however you can add as little or as much as you like (within reason, I wouldn’t add more than 2tbsp)
Vegetable Stock- I use boiling water mixed with a good quality vegetable stock cube. If you’re doubling up the recipe, don’t forget to double up the stock cubes too!
Cooking Tips
Fry off the vegetables first
Frying off the onion, garlic, herbs and mushrooms first allows the mushrooms to caramelise in the butter. If you fry in a good quality non stick pan for around 6-7 minutes it gives the mushrooms and peppers enough time to start to get a beautiful glaze before adding the stock and cream.
Add the stock before the cream
When you add the stock you want to get the temperature to a low simmer first which will give the water enough time to start to mix all of those beautiful flavours from the vegetables. Turn the temperature right down so it’s not simmering or bubbling then add the cream. You don’t want the temperature too hot as the cream can separate / spoil.
Add crusty fresh or toasted bread at the end
Adding buttered toast or bread, or even leftover breadcrumbs will make a really delicious crunch in contrast to the creamy soup.
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Tuscan Wild Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 white onion finely diced
- 1 pepper chopped into 4cm squares
- 2 tbsp Pure Dairy Free Sunflower Spread
- 5-6 sun dried tomatoes chopped into small chunks
- 200 g mixed mushrooms chopped
- 400 ml veg stock made with boiling water and 1/2 stock cube
- 200 ml plant based cream can also use oat based creme fraiche
Herbs
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- Large pinch salt & pepper
- 1 tbsp cornflour to thicken, optional
- 2 bay leaves not essential but works beautifully
Instructions
Method:
- Add the Pure spread to a deep pan, place on a medium heat then add the onions and fry for around 5 minutes
- Add the minced garlic cloves, sundried tomatoes, pepper and mushrooms to the pan along with all of the herbs and fry for a further 6-7 minutes
- Once the mushrooms have browned add the vegetable stock, give a stir then reduce the heat right down
- Add the cream and stir together, taste test adding more seasoning / herbs if needed
- Serve with a slice of crusty bread & a generous slather of vegan butter
Notes
If you like this recipe why not try my harissa and potato soup.
