Dr. Jim's Cookbook Experiments, episode 1: Mushroom soup
A quiz question for you all, multiple choice. What is my favourite variety of soup? Is it...
a) mushroom?
b) lentil & bacon?
c) mulligatawny?
d) minestrone?
And of those four, the answer you'd all consider least likely is the correct one. And it's all very well, getting mushroom soup in a tin from Tesco - it's perfectly serviceable, but, just like Minecraft (a game I once knew about a year ago now... just in case you were asking), it's always best to make your own.
So, consulting Jeni Wright's venerable All Colour Cookery Book from Marks & Spencer in 1976 (which has served me well now for 24 years, when I've needed it), and armed with the ability to buy the ingredients at two days' notice which was helpful, wasn't it, Asda...
You will need, should you want to make it yourself:
- "some" butter
- one small onion (the smaller the better, I say)
- ¼ kg or ½ lb mushrooms, whichever is more
- 2 tablespoons plain flour
- 2 pints vegetable stock (Jeni says chicken stock, but this isn't a Pot Noodle we're making here)
- "some" salt and black pepper
- "some" grated nutmeg (about half a teaspoon should be fine)
- one bay leaf (or two MORE SLAV POWER)
- "¼ to ½ pint" single cream (hint: it's available in ½ pint tubs and it's best to use it all)
Finely chop the onion and mushrooms. Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the onion and mushrooms, cover the pan and fry for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the four and fry for a further 2 minutes, stirring constantly (this might be difficult as it tends to clump into one large lump). Gradually add the stock and bring to the boil, stirring. Add the seasonings. Lower the heat, half cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, adjust seasoning, and stir in the cream. Serve with a sprinkle of parsley, if you must.
The result:
The verdict:
Looks good, doesn't it? It made enough for four days, so the tins could stay in the cupboard for a while. I used red onions, just in case they're any less revolting than normal brown onions, and made sure they were mostly blasted into tiny bits so I didn't notice them. The overwhelming flavour, though, was of vegetable Oxo - two pints is made with six cubes, and I think three should be the absolute maximum next time. It also meant that it didn't really need any salt.
Still, definitely one I'll go back to at some stage, and I'll see how my adjustments work.
a) mushroom?
b) lentil & bacon?
c) mulligatawny?
d) minestrone?
And of those four, the answer you'd all consider least likely is the correct one. And it's all very well, getting mushroom soup in a tin from Tesco - it's perfectly serviceable, but, just like Minecraft (a game I once knew about a year ago now... just in case you were asking), it's always best to make your own.
So, consulting Jeni Wright's venerable All Colour Cookery Book from Marks & Spencer in 1976 (which has served me well now for 24 years, when I've needed it), and armed with the ability to buy the ingredients at two days' notice which was helpful, wasn't it, Asda...
You will need, should you want to make it yourself:
- "some" butter
- one small onion (the smaller the better, I say)
- ¼ kg or ½ lb mushrooms, whichever is more
- 2 tablespoons plain flour
- 2 pints vegetable stock (Jeni says chicken stock, but this isn't a Pot Noodle we're making here)
- "some" salt and black pepper
- "some" grated nutmeg (about half a teaspoon should be fine)
- one bay leaf (or two MORE SLAV POWER)
- "¼ to ½ pint" single cream (hint: it's available in ½ pint tubs and it's best to use it all)
Finely chop the onion and mushrooms. Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the onion and mushrooms, cover the pan and fry for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the four and fry for a further 2 minutes, stirring constantly (this might be difficult as it tends to clump into one large lump). Gradually add the stock and bring to the boil, stirring. Add the seasonings. Lower the heat, half cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, adjust seasoning, and stir in the cream. Serve with a sprinkle of parsley, if you must.
The result:
The verdict:
Looks good, doesn't it? It made enough for four days, so the tins could stay in the cupboard for a while. I used red onions, just in case they're any less revolting than normal brown onions, and made sure they were mostly blasted into tiny bits so I didn't notice them. The overwhelming flavour, though, was of vegetable Oxo - two pints is made with six cubes, and I think three should be the absolute maximum next time. It also meant that it didn't really need any salt.
Still, definitely one I'll go back to at some stage, and I'll see how my adjustments work.