Mushroom Potato Caraway Soup
Thoroughly pureeing this simple soup of mushrooms, potatoes and caraway seed makes it velvety smooth and elegant.
Servings 4 as a main course, 8 as a first course
Ingredients
- 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into small uniform pieces (see Kitchen Notes)
- 1 pound white mushrooms, cut into thick slices (see Kitchen Notes)
- 1 shallot, peeled and chopped (about 1/3 cup)
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, crushed in a mortar
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (or 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon unsalted butter)
- half and half
- garnishes (see Kitchen Notes)
Instructions
- Heat the oil or oil and butter in a big heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the mushrooms and sauté until they brown and their liquid has evaporated—about 10 or 12 minutes. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté, stirring, for another minute or so, until the shallots become translucent.
- Add the potatoes, broth, and caraway, and stir everything together. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender.
- Remove from heat and let it cool a bit. Add salt to taste while it is still warm.
- Puree in batches in a blender or food processor. A hand blender is probably not going to do the job. And be careful! Blending warm or hot liquids can be dangerous—work in small batches. Process for at least 90 seconds (depending on the power of your blender or processor). This is best when it is velvet smooth.
- Once the soup is pureed, add it back to the saucepan. Add half and half to taste—probably two to four tablespoons per cup will do it—and stir it in. Heat it gently, garnish if you like, and serve right away.
Kitchen Notes
Potatoes? Yukon golds work out nicely, and simple red potatoes also are very nice for this recipe.
Mushrooms? We used basic grocery store white mushrooms. I’m looking forward to trying this with wild varieties once spring comes.
Garnish? The easiest garnish, as shown in our photo, is simply some sautéed mushroom slices—be sure to set as few aside before pureeing. You can also garnish with a scattering of finely chopped chives or scallion. For a more formal look, top with a sieved hard-boiled egg.
Lincoln Cafe? The former proprietor of the Lincoln Cafe, Matt Steigerwald, is now the chef at Wilson’s Ciderhouse in Iowa City which, hmmmm, is a mere 3 hours and 20 minutes from our house.