With the rain this morning, and confirmation from the folks at Glen Valley Organic Farm that they will be bringing organic white button, oyster, and portabello mushrooms starting today, I got thinking about mushroom soup and was reminded of my favourite all time soup recipes. My mom gave me a cookbook years ago and this recipe has been our go-to recipe for using up turkey leftovers. It’s easy to convert to vegetarian – omit the turkey and the sage and mushroom flavours are strong enough to stand on their own. You can also use chicken (we’ve done with great success – just use some brown and white cuts) and we’ve also used barley instead of the rice and wild rice occasionally finds its way in too. We often serve this with some cheesy rolls and you can also do it in the crock pot too – just wait until the end for the cream and serve after it warms.

Ingredients:

3 T butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
25 ish large fresh sage leaves, finely chopped (although we often leave ours whole)
3 T all purpose flour
5 c turkey or chicken stock (if converting to vegetarian recipe, use veggie stock)
2/3 c brown rice
9 oz mushrooms, sliced (we often also throw in some dried shitakes as well and we don’t really measure too well either – just cut up a bunch of mushrooms)
7 oz cooked turkey, shredded
3/4 c heavy cream (we use half and half)
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

Instructions:

1.  Melt half the butter in a large saucepan over medium low heat. Add the onions, celery and sage and cook for 3-4 minutes until the onion is soft, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour and continue to cook for about 2 minutes.
2. Slowly add about 1/4 of the stock and stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan to mix the flour. Pour in the remaining stock, stirring to combine, and bring just to a boil.
3. Stir in the rice and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat ad simmer gently, partially covered, for about 30 minutes or until the rice is just tender, stirring occasionally.
4. Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a large skillet over a medium heat. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 8 minutes until they are golden brown., stirring occasionally at first, then more often as they start to colour. Add the mushrooms to the soup.
5. Add the turkey to the soup and stir in the cream. Continue simmering for about 10 minutes until heated throughout. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper. Ladle into warm bowls and serve with Parmesan cheese.

Serves about 4 hungry peeps, takes you about 15-20 minutes of hands on time and about 60 minutes of cook time.

Enjoy!