Gary's Wild Mushroom Soup

 Serves 4

Image by Laustkehlet from Pixabay

1 TBS olive oil

500 g wild mushrooms, half sliced and the rest roughly chopped*

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

pinch of fresh thyme / 1/4 tsp dried thyme

salt and pepper

2 TBS butter

2 TBS flour

4 cups veggie stock or chicken stock

1/4 cup cream

METHOD

• In a large pot, combine the olive oil; mushrooms; garlic; thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté over medium heat until all the mushroom moisture has been released and evaporated. The mushrooms should be dark brown now.
• Add butter, stir for 2 minutes and add flour and stir for a few minutes. Don't let it burn!
• Add the stock slowly until absorbed. Bring to a simmer and stir in the cream.
• Serve with chopped parsley or thyme and some nice crusty bread or croutons

*Suitable mushrooms: Amanita rubescens (blushers), Agaricus arvensis (horse mushroom), Suillus bellinii (pine bolete), Suilllus granulatus (granular stalk bolete/weeping bolete)

I have made this with pine bolete and granular stalk bolete and horse mushrooms before - delicious! I have also made it with pine rings (Lactarius deliciosus). 

*If preferred, mix in a little bit of shop bought mushies like Portabellini or white button mushrooms if you don't have a lot of wild mushrooms.