Roasted Mushroom Soup: An Easy, Great Tasting Soup

Here is a great twist on an old classic. This version of cream of mushroom is very simply to prepare and full of flavor. Like most soups, it's great to make in a big batch and have it several times in a week as a snack or meal.

You'll need some mushrooms (of course), the regular white kind, some olive oil, some fresh garlic, yellow onion, carrot, celery, bacon (you know how much I love bacon), some canned mushrooms, butter, chicken stock, a little flour, salt and pepper.

First thing we're going to do is pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. Next we should wash our fresh mushrooms, rinse them very quickly in running water and wipe them off. Do not soak your mushrooms or get them overly wet as they will soak up water like a sponge (over 50% of a mushrooms weight is water) and they will be difficult to caramelize.

Now about a tablespoon of olive oil, put it in a small bowl, add a pinch of salt and pepper. Roll the mushrooms in the oil until they are evenly coated, roll 3 cloves of garlic in the oil as well, keep the skins on the garlic.

Put the mushrooms and garlic on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven, at about 10 minutes, pull the sheet out and remove the garlic (if it is not soft and mushy, leave it in for a few more minutes). Return the mushrooms to the oven, for about 30 more minutes or until they begin to dry out. At this point they should be very brown, a little sticky to the touch.

While you are roasting the mushrooms, let's get everything else together. Finely dice the celery, carrot and onion (this mixture is called mire poix and is the foundation for many, many dishes). You should have about ½ cup of mire poix ready. Roll up the strip of bacon and chop it up. Open the can of mushrooms, do not drain them.

Squeeze the roasted garlic a little, and the skins will come right off, mash the garlic with the flat of a knife. When the mushrooms are ready, take them from the oven and slice them while they are still warm.