French Fridays with Dorie: Paris mushroom soup

Dorie Greenspan Paris mushroom soup for French Fridays with Dorie on eatlivetravelwrite.comThis week we are back to posting the same recipe on the same day for French Fridays with Dorie and I was thrilled to see the first recipe for 2011 was Dorie’s Paris mushroom soup (pp 72-73).  What better way to get back into healthier eating after the holidays than with a big pot of homemade soup?

Dorie suggests serving the soup as they do at the Paris bistro, Les Papilles on top of a “salad” of raw mushrooms, chives, parsley, salt, pepper and a touch of crème fraîche which I will definitely try next time. Truth is, both of us are feeling not fabulous this week and a simple soup was just the ticket (I know – ironic – we spend two weeks in Mexico eating all sorts of food and don’t get sick, yet as soon as we return, we fall ill. Must be allergic to real life!)

I am a real mushroom lover – one of my favourite simple dinners when I lived in Paris was mushrooms, sauteed in a little butter on toast – and this soup is rich and flavourful without being heavy. There is no cream in there – it’s creamy enough.  I used less broth and more wine (well….) but the creaminess comes from the mushrooms themselves which I puréed with my immersion blender (I have and love this one from Cuisinart, it did a great job on this soup – I saw a few people on the FFWD forums saying their immersion blenders did not do such a good job), leaving it a little chunky and setting aside a few of the cooked mushrooms to serve on top.

It’s not the prettiest of soups – I mean, it’s brown, right – one of the hardest coloured foods you can photograph – but by golly it tasted good 🙂  Another winner – thanks Dorie, just what our tummies needed this week!

Want to join in the fun? Join French Fridays with Dorie here and follow along on Twitter.

A few people have asked for recipes from my French Fridays with Dorie entries.  The group does not publish the recipes on our blogs, rather, we would prefer it if you would purchase the book yourselves (trust me, you definitely want this book!) which you can do here on Amazon (great price right now) or here on Amazon Canada (it’s also on special!).  Go on, treat yourself join us in 2011!

76 thoughts on “French Fridays with Dorie: Paris mushroom soup”

  1. I LOVE mushrooms. My bf, on the other hand, does not! I’d be on my own with this one… but at least I’d have it all to myself! Great job!

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  2. This looks so good. I have this cookbook, but I haven’t used it yet {for shame I know!}. Things have just been so crazy with the holidays.

    Also your picture is gorgeous. Feel better!

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  3. Maybe it’s just the way I’m feeling this week, but this was the least successfull FFWD dish so far, methinks.

    Then again, eating in the canteen without any presentation to tart it up, the dismal appearance may have swayed: looks far too boarding school.

    Nice, but could have used a bit more complexity of flavours. Maybe I should have given Mardi a better bottle of wine… 😉

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  4. I didn’t have high expectations for this recipe, but it was fabulous!!! I’m glad my family wasn’t interested in it…I ate it for 4 nights straight! Yeah, not so pretty, but you did a lovely job with the garnish 🙂

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  5. Gorgeous soup Mardi!! A few enoki mushrooms would work well as a garnish on this soup too.

    I’m with you on the sauteed mushrooms on toast! Sometimes I even throw in a little blue cheese during the last minute of the saute… sooo good!
    – Brittany

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  6. Mardi, I think your soup looks totally yummy! You’re one lucky lady to have lived in Paris for a bit and I’m sure this recipe made you feel like you were back. I’ve not always been a mushroom lover but this soup turned my head around. Love the healthy aspect of it also!

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  7. So true it was just what my tummy needed this week. I have to say even though the soup was brown your photos were great. Enjoyed the visit to your site. And I learned a new phrase!!! Les Papilles..Thanks B:)

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  8. Though a challenge to photo for sure; I thought the flavor wonderful. I did up it a bit by adding a chunk of Parmesan rind to the simmering soup and though I doubt I would ever do the salad in the bottom, the addition of the creamy component on top made a difference. I used Greek yogurt and it was great; creme fraiche is most definitely not a standard ingredient in my fridge!

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  9. Ha, allergic to real life. Ain’t that the truth! I am leaving for a two week vacation and totally know what you mean. I hope to have a bowl of this wonderful soup when I get back too!

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  10. Your soup looks delicious and the photo is beautiful. The background and the bowl make something that tastes so incredible even more so. Hope you feel better.

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  11. This was on my list of things to cook this week in hopes of getting myself back into the FFWD routine, but alas, I had no time and I’m still recovering from all the holiday cooking. Looks amazing though Mardi. Wish I had made it. Will have to soon.

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  12. Beautiful photos. I used my regular blender and liked the results. I tried straining part of the soup through a fine mesh sieve, but felt it lost all the marvelous texture.

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  13. This soup looks lovely:) Your vacation tweets were great to follow. I hope you are both feeling better and have a lovely weekend.

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  14. I just recently posted a mushroom soup recipe and I agree, not the easiest thing to make look appetizing. But I’m a lover of mushrooms, so it doesn’t take a pretty picture to entice me. Hope you feel better soon.

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  15. I swear I have been talking about getting an immersion blender for two years now and have yet to purchase one. What is wrong with me? I am certan it makes finishing soups such as this one so much easier. The simplicity of this mushroom soup is what truly makes it great.

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  16. I saw this on your Flickr and resolved to make it because it just looked so delicious. I’m really looking forward to delving into my Dorie book when I get back from my travels, especially if the results are this tasty!

    Jax x

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  17. This looks hearty, filling and nourishing all at once. I keep seeing all these wonderful dishes from Dorie’s book and I’m letting mine gather dust on the shelf. Thanks for the delicious reminder to put it to use.

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  18. A copy of this book is on my desk and ‘Paris Mushroom Soup’ is just the inspiration I need to open it. Love the fact you’re starting the new year with something healthy and delicious. Mushrooms are the best.

    Reply

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