Winter got you down? Tired of the cold and dreariness of it all? I understand. This mushroom and brie soup will wrap you snugly in its velvety smoothness and help sooth the Old Man Winter blues. It won’t make it so you can slap on a pair of Tory strappy sandals and show off your perfectly pedicured feet but I guarantee you will feel uplifted and heartened. And, besides, spring is almost around the corner. All right, maybe not quite around the corner, however, it will be here soon enough. In the meantime, tuck into this soup with a great book or movie and treat yourself kindly. This recipe calls for three pounds of mushrooms and that’s three pounds of any kind of fresh mushroom that floats your boat. I love using one pound of shiitake, (that’s all I can afford), and two pounds of button mushrooms. I purchase the button mushrooms whole and leave the stem on when roasting them. The stems of the shiitake should be removed prior to roasting due to the fact they are tough as leather. I pinch them off and discard them although some people save them for mushroom or vegetable broth. I’m not one of those people. Shiitake mushrooms are loaded with flavor; they’re quite woodsy and smoky; and I find button mushrooms to be earthy and meaty. It’s a marvelous combination. Because this soup is so luxurious and rich, I find a double cream Brie to be perfect. Triple cream tastes wonderful but is considerably more expensive so I leave it up to you. This mushroom soup is ample enough that, truly, the only addition one could possibly want is some hot, crunchy bread to dip and sop. I typically serve my mushroom soup with hot-out-of-the-oven garlic bruschetta. Yum! And the soup gets better overnight so pack up a couple of thermoses, share some with your coworkers and they’ll love you forever.
Cream of Roasted Mushroom and Brie Soup
- 3 pounds fresh mushrooms, mixed is great but pull off any woody stems
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 12 garlic cloves, peeled and rough chopped
- 2 heaping tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 3 generous tablespoons of flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup white wine
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 8 ounces Brie cheese, rind cut off
- salt and pepper to taste
- Pre-heat oven to 400°.
- Place mushrooms on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle the olive oil over the mushrooms, toss them with your hands until they are completely covered with the oil and spread out in an even layer.
- Roast in the oven until they begin to brown, about 45 minutes.
- In a heavy bottomed soup pot or dutch oven melt the butter over medium high heat.
- Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until they are clear.
- Add the garlic and thyme and stir.
- Add the flour and stir well. Cook for 3-4 minutes stirring constantly.
- Add the wine and chicken broth and stir until the flour has been incorporated completely and there are no lumps.
- Add the roasted mushrooms, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender to puree to your liking. You can also blend this in a food processor or blender.
- Add the milk and Brie and stir until the cheese has melted.
- Taste for any needed salt and pepper and serve.
The Irreverent Kitchen 
Oh YaYa it’s cold up here in DeLand so I’m going to whip this up tonight. Sounds incredible! I’ll invite E over for a bowl.
Jen, I’m so glad! It’s so fabulous especially with hot bread or a simple bruschetta. Enjoy! Loved the Christmas card…especially the update of all the kids on the back. Genius! Miss you!