Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- If you are making mushroom stock, place the dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover them with 1 ½ cups room temperature water. Place something heavy on top to keep them submerged. Soak for 30 minutes, or until soft.
- Scoop out the rehydrated mushrooms. Strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve to catch sediment, reserving the stock. Add the rehydrated mushrooms to a bowl of water, agitate them with your hands, drain, and repeat a few times to remove grit. Slice the mushrooms and set them aside.
- Slice fresh mushrooms like cremini and shiitake; remove shiitake stems. Tear oyster or maitake mushrooms into strips by hand, discarding any tough ends.
- Heat a Dutch oven or soup pot with the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions with a pinch of salt and saute for 4 to 5 minutes, until they start to soften. Add the garlic and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the butter to the pan. Once melted, add the fresh mushrooms and the rehydrated dried mushrooms, if you used them. Cook for about 5 minutes, until softened. Season with salt and pepper at the end of this step.
- Pour in the white wine and use it to scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, until the alcohol smell is gone and some liquid has cooked off.
- If you made mushroom stock, pour it in, reserving the last tablespoon or so because it usually contains sediment. Add the vegetable broth too. Use 4 cups of vegetable broth if you did not make mushroom stock. Add the bouquet garni and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Scoop out ⅓ to ½ of the soup, including some mushrooms but leaving the bouquet garni behind. Transfer this portion to a blender. Add the cashews, miso paste, and soy sauce to the blender. Start blending slowly, then increase to high speed until the mixture is completely smooth.
- Stir the blended soup back into the remaining soup in the pot. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until the flavors develop and the soup thickens slightly. Season with salt and pepper. If you want a slight acidity, add the Dijon mustard. Remove the bouquet garni before serving.
- Ladle the soup into serving bowls. Top each bowl with a small drizzle of good-quality olive oil, if you want extra richness, and garnish with the chopped parsley or chives.
Nutrition
Notes
The optional asterisked ingredients provide flavor depth. The dried mushrooms create a richer stock. The bouquet garni adds aromatic background flavor during simmering.