A winter favourite, this comfortingly creamy mushroom soup is speedily prepared on the stove. A combination of portobellini, shimeji and shiitake mushrooms add levels of flavour while store-bought tortellini pasta gives the soup body.
I’m not reinventing the wheel here, so there’s nothing fancy about my soup, except perhaps that I like to use a combination of mushrooms – particularly shiitake – to deepen the flavour along with cream and plain yoghurt for a luxuriant creaminess. My other secret is using a good quality mushroom stock cube – or dried mushrooms soaked in boiling water – essentially a concentrated hit of taste. I have my friend Fiamma to thank for introducing me to the joys of the porcini stock cube and I’ve not looked back since!
Creamy Mushroom Soup with Tortellini
Prep time: 15 mins /Cook time: 30 mins /Serves: 4-6
You will need:
- 500g assorted mushrooms
- 1 shallot or small onion, finely diced
- Olive oil
- 4 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves plus extra for garnish
- Sea salt and black pepper
- 150ml dry white wine
- 1 litre of chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 good quality chicken or mushroom stock cubes
- 250ml cream
- 150ml plain yoghurt, plus extra for serving
- 250g mushroom tortellini
Set aside a few of the prettiest mushrooms to garnish the soup and roughly chop the rest. Warm 20ml of olive oil in a casserole pot and sauté the whole mushrooms over medium heat until gently browned and cooked through. Set aside until needed. Add another 20ml of olive oil and sauté the diced shallot until soft and translucent. Increase the heat to high, add in the chopped mushrooms and fry until soft. Scatter in the thyme leaves and season generously with black pepper and a little salt.
Deglaze the casserole with the white wine and pour in the chicken stock. Crumble in the stock cubes and stir to dissolve. Remove the soup from the heat and use an immersion or stick blender to purée the soup. Stir through the cream and plain yoghurt and leave the soup to simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the tortellini according to the packet instructions. Once cooked, drain the tortellini and add to the mushroom soup, stirring the pasta through.
To serve, dish into soup bowls and garnish with a swirl of plain yoghurt, the additional whole mushrooms and a scattering of thyme leaves.
