Wild Mushroom Bisque Soup: Where To Find the Best Mushrooms For Soup

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Wild Mushroom Bisque Soup – The temperatures may not be representative of the season but it’s soup time regardless.

I thought it would be fun to cook my way through an old cookbook I found at home in France while visiting earlier this month.

The 200 plus page cookbook has an entire chapter on mushroom recipes!  Everything from a quiche type “cake” to grilled mushrooms, a mushroom filled omelette, a pâté, sautéed mushrooms in cream sauce and a salad.

Mushroom Bisque Soup Recipe: Variety Is Key

The first recipe is for what has to be the best mushroom bisque – one made with a variety of wild mushrooms found in the woods near home.

Or, as they say at home une Mitonée de Champignons Sauvages.

But it takes an expert to locate edible wild mushrooms on the forest floor.  Don’t do it unless you are familiar with or bring along an expert to correctly identify all edible wild mushrooms.

Soup can be right out of the Campbell’s® can (and doctored up of course) or completely from scratch.  But I’ve never prepared this version.  It’s also obvious that I am not going to find wild mushrooms.

Here is one recipe I will never be able to prepare to the letter unless I forage for wild mushrooms in neighborhood parks

Stay safe! Be sure you know how to recognize edible mushrooms!

 Mushroom Print Set of 4 Antique Botanical Beautiful Edible and Poisonous Brown Beige Natural Mushrooms French Truffle Forest Nature Home Room Decor Wall Art Unframed EAP

Short of making a quick run to scour the woodlands behind our property in northern France, I must find my mushroom soup ingredients in a local supermarket.

Where To Find Unusual Mushrooms

So… Wegmans® market it is because i know they have the best selection of fresh mushrooms – even if I do nothing else than pick several packs of what they have labeled as their mushroom blend.

Read all about foraging at your local Wegmans® market.

Their mushroom blend is my favorite combination of mushrooms to sauté with crushed garlic as a grilled steak topping.

Which Mushrooms Do I Use For Max Flavor?

What you want in this soup is an intense “woodsy” flavor of certain mushrooms.

Here are some of the unique characteristics of the mushrooms I selected for my wild mushroom bisque.  

This is not an inexpensive soup when selecting the ingredients for a “from scratch” soup.  I’ve included the current price tag for each type of mushroom.

Royal Trumpet Mushrooms

Also known as King Oyster mushrooms, these grow in clusters, have a nutty flavor plus an incredibly long shelf life (1/3 lb at $8.99/pound).

As one of the most cultivate edible variety, oyster mushrooms are easier to find in supermarkets. A 1/4 lb purchase in bulk costs $1.68.

 The Complete Mushroom Hunter, Revised: Illustrated Guide to Foraging, Harvesting, and Enjoying Wild Mushrooms – Including new sections on growing your own incredible edibles and off-season collecting

Hen of the Woods

Hen of the Woods mushrooms grow in clusters at the base of oak trees.  Don’t use the tough base of the cluster. It gets tougher as it ages.

This pricey mushroom has the most intense “woodsy” aroma and a price to match! (1/3 of a pound at $12.99 a pound).

Shiitake Mushrooms

The Shiitake is a more reasonably priced mushroom at $6.99 a pound.  Often found in dried form, the fresh ‘shroom has a strong woodsy aroma and is perfect for soups.  We love it in Chinese soups.

Crimini Mushrooms

Crimini mushrooms are the tan version of the white button mushroom.  However, they have a more intense flavor.  Another name of this mushroom?  The Baby Bella!

When this mushroom grows up it become a Portobello!

Interested in growing your own mushrooms?  It’s easier than you think!

Making Mushroom Bisque Soup

This wild mushroom bisque soup is perfect when temperatures dip.  Add a turkey or ham sandwich for a quick and easy comfort food menu.

Wild Mushroom Bisque Soup

• Author: La Cuisinière
• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x
• Category: Soups
• Method: Stove Top
• Cuisine: French

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Description

Rich and creamy soup chock full of assorted wild mushrooms (or not so wild as we can’t go foraging around town unless it is to the produce section of an upscale market).

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

18 oz. total of assorted mushrooms (combination of Royal Trumpet, Hen of the Woods, Crimini and Shiitake mushrooms – an equal amount of mushroom blend in a pinch)

4–6 tablespoons of sea salt butter

1.25 cups of coarse breadcrumbs – from a stale baguette

48 oz. (6–8 cups for more servings) of rich chicken stock, bone broth or mushroom chicken bone broth

2–3 green onions/scallions

Thyme leaves from a few sprigs of the fresh herb.

Fresh parsley – 1/4 cup chopped (as a flavor ingredient and to decorate each serving)

2 egg yolks

6 ounces of “crème fraîche“

Salt and freshly cracked black pepper – to taste

Fresh chervil (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)

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Instructions

Clean all the mushrooms.  I brush them off with a paper towel and try not to have to wash them.   If they are particularly dirty with growing medium, rinse them quickly under running water or remove part of the stem.  Scrape off any other specs with the blade of a knife.

Chop the mushrooms into diced pieces – not so small that they will turn to mush.  Set aside.

Slice the scallions, chop the parsley and shallots if you decide to use some.  Set aside.

Chop the stale baguette into large crumbs.  My grandmére always had the butt end of stale baguettes stashed in a linen bag to make bread crumbs.

In a large bowl, mix the chopped mushrooms, scallions, parsley and fresh herbs until well combined.

Add butter to a large Dutch Oven.  Melt the butter then add the mushroom mixture to the pan.

Sauté over medium low heat for about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon or a silicone slotted spoon.  Season to taste.  Do not allow the mushrooms to burn – just sweat them down and cook until tender.

Remove about 1/3 of the mixture to a small bowl.  Set aside.

Add bread crumbs to mushroom mixture in the pan and stir to combine evenly.  Sauté for about 5 minutes then add chicken stock.

Simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes.

Remove approximately 1 coup of the soup liquid and place in a Pyrex® dish to cook off.

Whisk together the crème fresh and two eggs until completely blended.

Add some of the cooked soup liquid to the cream mixture.  Stir to combine and slowly pour into the rest of the soup, stirring constantly.  Reheat the soup but do not allow it to simmer or boil.

Adjust seasonings if needed.

Ladle soup into soup bowls.  Top with chopped parsley and serve immediately.

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Notes

I’ve been asked many times…  “What is the difference between crème fraîche and sour cream?”  Pasteurization, thickeners and fat content.

• Sour cream is pasteurized, has added ingredients to thicken it and 20% fat content.
• Créme fraîche is unpasteurized, without added ingredients to thicken it and a 30% fat content.  In other words – thicker, richer and noticeably less sour than regular sour cream.

The quick and easy way to make this wold mushroom bisque is to purchase several packs of Wegmans® mushroom blend.   Chop the mushrooms into small pieces. 

For an intense earthy and woodsy flavor, experiment with mushrooms other than Baby Bellas or white mushrooms.  While these are perfect for other recipes, you want a strong mushrooms aroma and flavor. 

Instead of green onions use finely chopped shallots. 

My preference is for chicken broth which does not disguise the flavor of the mushrooms as much as beef flavor.  BUT… if you can find it, use Organic Mushroom Broth or mushroom soup base.  Bouillon cubes even come in mushroom flavor!

For the best flavor and tasty health benefits, buy Mushroom and Chicken Bone Broth!

Keywords: mushrooms, soup

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This soup recipe was adapted from an old cookbook clipping which belonged in my grandmother’s recipe stash.

Recettes Du Terroir

Many of these old fashioned recipes prepared with locally sourced ingredients seem overly complicated and tedious to prepare.

These home style recettes du terroir are tied to ingredients available locally (literally in their back yards) as regional specialties – the wild mushrooms found in nearby woods and those found in the family potager.

In my mind’s eye, I can still see us head out to the backyard vegetable garden during late afternoon to gather the vegetables and herbs required for the evening meal.

Don’t let the many recipe steps scare you from preparing this bisque.  You will be rewarded with a bowl of the ultimate rich and creamy comfort food.

Adding cream and eggs to a rich broth results in a bisque that will warm up even the chilliest of evenings.

All you need to add to the dinner menu is a sandwich and a small salad.

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