Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. white or brown mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

• 1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

• 2 1/2 to 3 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth

• 1/4 cup chopped onion

• 1 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

• 1 tbsp butter

• Salt and freshly ground pepper

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• 2 tbsp flour

• Chopped cilantro or parsley

1. Heat a soup pot on medium. Add oil and butter. Once butter is melted, sauté onion for 3 minutes. Add garlic to pot and cook 30 seconds.

2. Add sliced mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, stirring half-way through. (The mushrooms will brown a bit but without constant stirring).

3. Add 1 tablespoon flour to the mushrooms and cook on low heat, stirring for 3 minutes. Add coriander and some of the chopped cilantro.

4. Increase heat to medium once again. Slowly pour stock or broth to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 8 minutes.

5. Remove 1/4 cup of the liquid from the pot and whisk in the additional 1 tablespoon flour. Pour this back into the pot and stir to combine; or gently whisk. Cook for 5 minutes, soup should begin to thicken.

6. Season with salt and pepper and lemon juice. Taste as adjust seasoning as necessary.

7. Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender, blend soup to your desire smoothness.

8. Ladle into bowls and garnish with additional cilantro or parsley. Serve with a crusty bread.

Notes&Tips:

• This is a simple recipe using your regular grocery store mushrooms.

• I fell in love with Mushroom Soup when I visited Poland. Mushroom Soup was served with most every meal. A lot of Poles hunt for wild mushrooms in the forests. During our travel through the country, we spotted many mushroom hunters - hunting and or selling their produce. Before visiting Poland, I have never thought of making Mushroom Soup. Now I make it occasionally. I have also began to explore different types of mushrooms that I loved to look at but dared not try them due to my ignorance.