chanterelle mushroom & leek soup

I've been feeling a little under the weather this week which always makes me want to eat soup. Lots and lots of soup. Thankfully I have an awesome roommate who also likes to cook. And thankfully she made some amazing soup this week. The result was so amazing that I decided I needed to write about it, even if I didn't cook it myself.


The soup kick was actually less a result of me contracting the swine flu (kidding...) and more a result of scoring a grocery bag full of some beautiful chanterelle mushrooms. I first learned about chanterelles while reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. The author, while seeking out the sources of the foods he eats, stumbles upon a chanterelle mushroom in his backyard. Unable to identify it, he ends up tossing it only to find out later that it was indeed the real deal and not a poisonous look-alike. Fortunately we had nothing to worry about since our bag of mushrooms came to us from a skilled mushroom hunter; one I hope my roommate remains in touch with for completely selfish reasons.

After some debate and the mushrooms staring at us from the countertop for a few days, we decided soup was the way to go with quantity of shrooms we had. Below is the recipe my roommate decided to try and I have to say, it was absolutely delicious! Enjoy!

chanterelle mushroom & leek soup

3 tbl butter
3 tbl olive oil
1/2 lb potatoes, skin on, but into 1/4 pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs chanterelle mushrooms, wiped clean with a damp towel, stems trimmed
1 c sweet onion, copped
1 leek, washed well and sliced
1/4 cup white wine
7 c chicken broth
1/2 tsp crushed red chili flakes
3 tbl fresh parsley
salt & pepper
1c half and half
2 tbl flour

Heat olive oil and butter in a dutch oven or large soup pot over medium - high heat. Add potatoes, cover and cook until they are a bit tender and starting to brown a bit, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, chanterelles, onions and leeks and cook for 5 minutes, while stirring frequently. Add white wine and continue cooking for an additional 2 minutes. Pour in chicken stock, chili flakes, parsley, salt and pepper and stir. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Puree approximately 3 cups of soup in a food processor or blender. Return pureed soup to pot. In a small bowl, whisk flour with half and half until well blended. Pour into soup pot and continue to simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.