Cream of Mushroom Soup
A really rich but delicate cream of mushroom soup, which can be made extra thick to substitute for canned cream of mushroom soup.
Makes 1 quart
- 4 ounces blanched* almonds (by weight) or 1 cup
- about 1 quart water
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ounce sherry
- 1 pound portobello mushrooms, diced, or 24 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Put almonds in the blender with enough water to come a little below the level of the almonds. Blend until completely smooth, adding more water and scraping down the cannister as necessary. When the puree is the consistency of pancake batter, add enough water to make it pourable.
Put mushrooms into a pan with the oil and saute until cooked and fairly dry. Add the almond milk and sherry, and cook, stirring, until the soup has simmered for several minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serves 4
Blanched almonds
In case you do not have a source, you can make these at home. They are also useful for baking into light breads.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and turn off heat. Drop in almonds. Leave for 2 minutes, then pour almonds into strainer or collander. Cover with cold water. Peel almonds by slipping each nut from its skin. Place almonds on a towel paper lined cookie sheet and dry in an oven set on its lowest temperature setting.