Bountiful Mushroom Bisque w/ Creme Fraiche

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 A lovely mushroom soup worthy of Pennsylvania winters - you could even savor a bowl near a crackling fire while gazing out on a silvery gray landscape worthy of a Wyeth painting ... perhaps one of the gorgeous sycamore that overlooked the Gilpin house at Brandywine Battlefield when it was visited by General Lafayette and was still there in my teen years when I gave tourists tours of the house.  RIP majestic tree.   


Andrew Wyeth, Pennsylvania Landscape




into a large soup pot add a generous turn of olive oil or some beef tallow. 

Add: 

1 diced onion

a few stalks celery, diced

2 carrots diced 

salt and cook until onions are translucent


Add 2 quarts of sliced white button mushrooms and a dash or two of worcestershire sauce.    Cover and cook down a bit. 

Add 3 quarts stock or bone broth and a cup of marsala wine or sherry.   This time I had bone broth from Wyebrook Farm beef bones.  

Add dried mushrooms for more variety, dried thyme, powdered rosemary and garlic powder. 

Simmer ~30 minutes, then use immersion blender to puree well.  


I then added fresh ground pepper, salt, and one more quart of mushrooms - baby creminis, washed and stemmed but not chopped.  Simmer until mushrooms are cooked. 


Garnish each bowl with one or more of the following: 

creme fraiche

heavy cream

sherry

croutons

thinly sliced brie 

shredded Swiss cheee 

grated nutmeg 


oh ... you think creme fraiche is too expensive?   Make your own!   Put heavy cream into a jar, stir in a couple tablespoons of plain yogurt, stir and let it sit overnight - the cultures will do their work and  it will thicken.   Then use frother or whisk to whip the cream - lovely in a mushroom soup or on top of chocolate mousse! 





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