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Mushroom Soup
Gracious Cooking

Creamy Mushroom Soup with Chicken and Brown Rice

This soup can be on your table in about 30 minutes. It's warm, comforting, and it has vegetables!
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, French
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 8 oz cremini mushrooms, finely chopped You can use any mushroom you'd like.
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 and ½ teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup all purpose flour
  • 4 cups unsalted chicken stock 1 box
  • 2 teaspoons fine sea salt You will need more to taste, but this is a good starting point. Be sure to taste for salt after you add the cream.
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Plus more to taste.
  • ½ teaspoon Tony Chachere's No Salt seasoning Or your favorite seasoning blend with a kick.
  • ¾ cup heavy whipping cream Again, you can add more if you'd like, but start here. Half and half would also work.
  • 1 cup brown rice, previously cooked
  • 1 and ½ cup cooked chicken, chopped Rotisserie chicken is great here.
  • fresh lemon juice To taste, about 1 to 2 teaspoons.
  • freshly chopped Italian parsley, to garnish Optional.

Method
 

  1. Heat a 6 quart enameled Dutch oven, or other large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.
  2. Add the olive oil and the chopped mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are browned. They will cook down a lot. Season with a little salt and pepper.
  3. Add the diced onion. Cook until the onions are translucent. Season with a little salt and pepper.
  4. Add the minced garlic, and cook for about 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
  5. Deglaze the pan by adding the white wine vinegar and scraping any brown bits off the bottom of the pan with a spatula or whisk.
  6. Stir ¼ cup (4 Tablespoons) of unsalted butter into the veggies, just until it melts.
  7. Add ¼ cup of flour, and stir for about 1 minute. This forms the roux, which will thicken the soup slightly.
  8. Add a little bit of chicken stock and whisk the pot, scraping brown bits off the bottom. This will thicken quickly. Add more stock, whisk, and then add the rest of the stock and whisk until combined.
  9. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and Tony Chachere's. You will need to season this soup several times, because the cream will mute this first full seasoning. The flavors are more rich and complex if you season as you go instead of just trying to season at the end. Also, you'll use less salt, I promise.
  10. After the soup comes to a low boil, turn down the heat to medium low and add the cream. How much to use is up to you, but I would start with ¾ of a cup. That was about right for me.
  11. Add the brown rice and the chicken.
  12. Bring the soup back to a simmer. Taste for seasoning, and adjust as necessary.
  13. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Taste and add more lemon juice if you'd like.
  14. Garnish with chopped parsley.
  15. Serve with toast and salted butter.

Notes

The chicken in this dish is completely optional. It would be very delicious without it, too.