Julia Child's Creamy Mushroom Soup
Why I Love This Recipe
I found myself in the possession of 2 lbs of fresh morel mushrooms. I have to say, this is the best mushroom soup I have had the pleasure of cooking and eating.
Ingredients You'll Need
1/4 cup minced onion
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
6 cups of boiling chicken stock (Julia says that if you don't have any stock, then use chicken broth with 2 parsley sprigs, 1/3 bay leaf and 1/8 teaspoon thyme)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Chopped stems of 1 lb of mushrooms (or if you're using morels like I am...just chop up 1/4 of them)
2 tablespoons butter
Thinly sliced caps from the 1 lb of mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 egg yolks
1/2 - 3/4 cup whipping cream
1 - 3 tablespoons butter
Directions
Slowly cook the onions in 3 tablespoons of butter for about 8 - 10 minutes, until tender. But don't let them get brown. Add the flour and store over low heat for about 3 minutes, without letting it brown.
Remove from heat and beat in the chicken stock until thoroughly blended with the flour mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the mushroom stems. Simmer while partially covered for at least 20 minutes.
Strain and press the juices out of the mushroom stems. Return the soup to the pan.
In another sauce pan, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter. When the butter begins to foam, add the mushrooms, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and the lemon juice. Cover and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes.
Pour the mushrooms along with their cooking juices into the strained soup base and simmer for 10 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and cream.
Then....beat in a cup of the the hot soup 1 teaspoon at a time! Gradually stir in the rest. (this process will temper the eggs so you don't end up with scrambled egg soup.)
Add more salt and pepper if needed. Return the soup to the pan and stir over low heat for a minute or two but don't let the soup simmer.
Remove from heat and stir in 1 - 3 tablespoons of butter, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Serve and enjoy...thoroughly!