Tuesday, December 8, 2009

soup for the soul


VEGAN mushroom soup. can’t forget my veg/vegan friends out there (hi V, hi MB). this is company worthy soup. the secret ingredient is sweet potato. don’t grimace, sweet potatoes are one of my favorite vegetables. if you haven’t tried them simply baked and served with butter & salt, you are missing out. the sweet potato here is a thickener and gives the soup creaminess and a hint of sweetness. here’s how:

2-3 tablespoons of my liquid gold (olive oil from the garlic confit recipe featured earlier)
1 cup finely chopped onions
5 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced
10 oz brown mushrooms, sliced thinly
1-2 cups of sweet potato, small cubes
2 vegan/veg boullion cubes or a 32 oz box of veg stock
salt to taste
¼ teaspoon white pepper
a pinch cayenne pepper, ground
bay leaf
cognac, a splash or ¼ cup white wine
1-2 tablespoons dried tarragon or parsley


peel & cube sweet potato. place in microwave safe bowl, add 1 cup water and microwave until fork tender, about 8 minutes.

chop onion and slice mushrooms. add liquid gold to heavy pot on med heat. add chopped onions, sauté. do not brown. add bay leaf. add mushrooms and lightly salt. add white pepper & cayenne. sauté on med-low heat for 15 minutes.


purée microwaved sweet potatoes. either with a stick blender or blender.


add a splash of cognac to mushrooms. cook out alcohol for 2-4 minutes. add puréed sweet potatoes and veg stock. season with salt; to taste.


simmer uncovered for 30 minutes on low heat. do not boil.


now is the time to use that forgotten herb~ tarragon; top with dried tarragon for a flavor hit. or, you can use parsley. dig in.


Bookmark and Share

1 comment:

mbracy said...

I love how you followed a post called "Pull that Meat" with a vegan soup recipe. And it's a yummy-looking one at that -- I don't recall having had a shiitake / sweet potato combo in anything, ever, but now I want to try it!