we have made this soup for christmas since we saw it in Bon Appetit in 2005. until the last 4 years my husband and i would make it together, tripling the recipe (at least) for an extended family dinner, but he has been out of town the week prior to Christmas for work these past few years, so i have made it myself. we have made the recipe 'our own' by adding many different kinds of mushrooms (bella, button, sh*take, oyster, puff, chanterelle, portobello, hen in the woods/etc.) & some garlic, except for the added types of mushrooms (and tons more than than recipe calls for) and the garlic, we have changed little about it. i use way more butter as we like our mushrooms well cooked, for the added flavor that browning gives them. it took me close to 8 hours to make sure all the mushrooms were browned, along with making sure the onions were browned also. cooking that many onions and mushrooms to a truly browned state takes a really long time. i always laugh when recipes say, cook onions until golden/browned/etc and then say .... about 5/7/9 minutes when to do it properly it takes about 30 - 50 minutes, depending on the amount you are doing. maybe a handful takes that long, but i'm not even sure about that. we LOVE this recipe and i can not imagine our Christmas without it.
Kris Z
Northeast Ohio
12/24/2023
This is a great recipe Fresh Wild Mushroom Soup , had fun making it over the weekend. Recreated the meal that I get from <a href="https://www.flexpromeals.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">https://www.flexpromeals.com/</a> delivered. Good quality and fresh.
Vadim
9/30/2023
This was an easy recipe to make. I substituted a large leek for the onions, doubled the shiitakes and puréed the whole batch. To serve I sautéed wild mushrooms w a shallot then placed a spoon of it on top of the serving along w a sprig of thyme. The fresh thyme in the soup comes through subtly. No need for cream. This makes a good light meal or a filling soup course.
Elizabelibby
Bay View, MI
5/29/2022
Just the recipe I needed tonight, one I could adapt using the ingredients with I had on hand. I used mushrooms I'd gathered last season and frozen. Onions, garlic, and butter I had. When the onions were fried until translucent I added dried thyme, dried puffball mushroom "flour" and frozen oyster and stump puffball mushrooms and kept stirring until they thawed out. I had no beef broth but I did have a quart of frozen mushroom broth in the freezer--made by simmering pheasantback mushrooms for hours. Just for good measure I added a tablespoon of "Better Than Bouillon" chicken base. It made a very satisfying soup with deep mushroom flavors--so hearty that I could imagine it as mushroom gumbo. That may be next---the oyster mushrooms, while not tasting like oysters, had a similar mouth feel and appearance, and I think they'd go well with shrimp and crab meat.
Lester D.
Madison WI
1/9/2022
Loved, loved this soup. Used a variety of mushrooms. Left out the flour. Simply puréed 2 cups of the soup to add the creaminess. Only had Harvy’s Bristol Cream Sherry so used it. Served with simple salad dressed w/ EVOO & white wine balsamic. what a hit on a hot day. Crusty bread Perseco & a great red wine went well.
renwai07
Living on a boat
8/2/2020
Delicious! The brandy made this soup, but I think sherry would taste great as well. I also blended a portion of the soup and it was a nice consistency. Made with artichoke toasts. Excellent the 2nd day as well.
KMD_Chicago
Chicago, IL
10/6/2019
This is an excellant recipe. Make sure you use fresh thyme for this recipe! I use this recipe for meatball appetizers. I reduce the broth for a thicker sauce. Top with lightly sauteed mushrooms and Fresh Thyme as a garnish.
Chef Dawnelle
Niceville, Florida
12/9/2017
Very easy soup to make and substitute what mushrooms you have fresh locally. Had a very good morrel mushroom season, some made a batch of soup with morrels and a few creminis. Delicious. Stir in a spoon of sour cream and even more delicious.
rykerdillonbecker
pennsylvania
4/30/2017
This is a very tasty mushroom soup. I used only 1/2 stick butter (more than enough), and pureed it at the end in a blender so it was smoother. Lots of flavor from the thyme, butter & brandy!
foofoodie
12/21/2016
I am so lucky to have a friend who grows oyster and sh*take mushrooms. This was so good. I didn't have any sherry so I used Marsala which is very mild and didn't overpower the mushrooms. I used half the amount of thyme too and the mushroom flavors really came through.
patuxent
WV
10/22/2016
Quick, easy, a real keeper! I, too added 2 additional teaspoons of thyme, 2 teaspoons of cumin & pureed 1/2 of the soup in a blender which I then added back to the large pot. I substituted thickening with 2 Tablespoons of almond meal, and used 4 cups of vegetable broth (in place of beef) and added 1/2 cup of coconut cream at the end. I also substituted good Sherry for the Brandy and added more to taste. In place of salt, I used Bragg Liquid Aminos. Delicious! I would definitely make this again.
grillgirl
Castro Valley, CA
2/20/2016
this is a fantastic and easy to make soup. after reading reviews i did modify it though. i added a cup of chopped celery, 2 additional teaspoons of thyme, 2 teaspoons of cumin, 1 teaspoon of sage and a 1/2 cup of heavy cream at the end. i also used an immersion blender to puree about half the soup. delicious!!!!
lizalyn1
NY
10/3/2015
I'm not sure what went wrong, but this was a bit bland and lacked rich mushroom flavor. I used over a pound of fresh shiitake, oyster, and trumpet mushrooms which I think have a very rich flavor. I did cut the butter way back to about 2 T (more would've left a slick on top of the soup), and substituted sherry for brandy. I added some half and half, which was nice, and used my immersion blender on about 1/4 of it, which did a lot for the texture. It was good, but I hope it'll be better and have more mushroom flavor after a day in the fridge. I'll keep playing around with this.
lovestoputter
2/26/2015
I agree with other reviewers that this is a great recipe to use as a base for modifying to individual taste. Like others, I used 2 cups of leeks instead of onions, substituted red wine for the brandy, pureed about a cup and mixed back in, and finally added a small amount of half and half. Rich and delicious!
sugreg
Bala Cynwyd, PA
10/12/2014
Wow, simple and delicious. I made this as the first course for my dinner party and it was loved by all. I left out the shiitakes and added porcinis instead and it was excellent. I love mushrooms and soup so this in the perfect recipe for me!
amalthea1181
Bellmawr, NJ
3/28/2014
