At first we just sauteed them in butter with a little seasoning and served them with toasted ciabatta for breakfast - sublime. Then soups came to mind, and I conjured up this creamy, lightly spiced brew which just works!
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| Field mushrooms |
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| and mmmm mushroom soup! |
Mmmmm
Mushroom Soup
Apart from
the pleasure of foraging to get something for nothing, gathering field
mushrooms with this creamy, lightly spiced soup in mind is a treat to look
forward to every Autumn. Field mushrooms give it a particularly wonderful
flavour, although it’s also very very good made from cultivated mushrooms, either
buttons or portobello. The chilli provides
the perfect spark but the spices don’t overpower; this is truly a soup to
remember and is also quick and straightforward to make.
If using field mushrooms that have been
rained on, they may be lightly waterlogged, in which case less milk will be
needed – about four cups should be fine.*
120g
butter
2 large
cloves garlic, peeled and chopped finely
1 tsp
ground cumin
1 Tbsp
ground coriander
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp chilli
powder
700g
mushrooms, sliced thinly
¼ cup
plain flour
4-5 cups
milk *
1 ½ tsp
salt or to taste and lots of freshly ground black pepper
Flat leaf
parsley, chopped, for garnish.
Melt the
butter over a low heat in a large, heavy based saucepan.
Sauté the
garlic until fragrant, then stir in the cumin, coriander, paprika and chilli
powder..Saute for 2-3 minutes, then turn up the heat and stir in the prepared
mushrooms.
Saute
until soft and moisture is released, 5-10 minutes.
Stir in
the flour and cook, bubbling, for a few minutes., stirring. Add a little more
butter or oil if needed, as this step is important to cook the flour.
Stir in
half the milk, stirring constantly, and bring to simmer point before adding the
remainder of the milk and bringing to simmer point again. Don’t boil.
Stir in
the salt and pepper.
Pour into
heated bowls and garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley.
Apart from the mushrooms, which I've now made into base soup mixtures and frozen ready to stir in the flour and milk, there is so much produce to deal with - basil to be turned into pesto and frozen, tomatillos to make into salsa base and freeze, beat the birds to the figs and the persimmons, rescue the last of the passionfruit, and deal to truckloads of feijoas.
From a kitchen filled with the smell of fresh basil, garlic, mushroom soup and freshly cooked chutneys - happy Easter!
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| Basil, garlic and tomatillos |
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| tomatillos |
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| Tomatillos husked and washed |
