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Morel Mushroom Soup

Recipe and photo by Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley of Food For Hunters. The original can be found here alongside dozens of other delicious wild food recipes.

Servings: 4-6
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1.5 ounces dried morel mushrooms, plus extra    
  • 4 tbs. of butter    
  • 2 shallots, minced    
  • 3 small leeks (or 2 medium), washed thoroughly and white parts chopped    
  • 8 ounces of white button mushrooms, quartered    
  • 8 ounces of cremini/baby bella mushrooms, quartered (woody stems removed)    
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced    
  • 2 sprigs of fresh thyme    
  • 1/3 cup of dry sherry    
  • 1.5 quarts of reserved morel mushroom water and/or chicken stock, plus extra    
  • Kosher salt    
  • Dash of ground white pepper    
  • Heavy cream, to taste    
  • Creme fraiche, to taste    
  • Pinch of MSG, optional    
  • Minced chives    

Instructions

  1. Soak dried morels in hot water for about 20 minutes, or until plump and pliable. If you have time, soak morels in water overnight in a covered container, refrigerated. Keep morels in the liquid until you're ready to cook them. Do not throw away the liquid.

  2. In a soup pot, add butter, shallot and leek and sauté for 2 minutes over medium heat. Then cover and cook on low for 10 minutes -- do not brown -- stirring occasionally. Next, add quartered white button and cremini mushrooms and sauté over medium heat until they're wilted and shrunken, allowing extra liquid to evaporate, stirring often.

  3. Then add reconstituted morels (reserve the liquid), thyme and garlic, and sauté for 30 seconds. Next, cover the pot and cook on low for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  4. Next, return heat to medium and add dry sherry, allowing the alcohol to cook off slightly for 30 seconds. Then add enough morel mushroom water and chicken stock to submerge all ingredients. Bring to a gentle simmer. Take off heat and discard thyme sprigs.

  5. Puree mushroom and stock mixture until completely smooth in a blender. Return puree to pot and add more chicken stock to thin out the soup to your liking. Add heavy cream, salt and white pepper, to taste. I also added a tiny pinch of MSG for additional depth. Heat thoroughly, but do not allow soup to boil. Serve with a dollop of creme fraîche and minced chives. If you have extra morels, sautée them (always cook morels before eating) to garnish each bowl.

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