All I want in life is to have an excuse to eat stuffing all year long. I mean, why are we not?? Is it because bread is not considered a food group? Because I would like to disagree. And in my disagreement, I developed this soup that tastes JUST like a Leek and Mushroom Stuffing, but has all the elements you need to call it a full meal. A ton of vegetables? Check. Enough vegetarian protein to sustain you? Check. More flavor than you can count, plus ingredients that will make you feel like you’re all cozy by a holiday fire? CHECK.
This soup has it all, it just wants you to come make it this holiday season!
PS, cover it in croutons. You won’t regret it!
Leek & Mushroom Stuffing Soup
This vegetable-filled soup tastes exactly like a wild mushroom stuffing, but a stuffing you can eat all season long! Which is exactly what I thought we should always be doing, by the way. It’s a crime stuffing isn’t a more popular year-round food. Here you can get all the flavors of mushroom leek stuffing, but filled with all the nutrition you need for a full meal. It’s a favorite dinner of mine, full stop.
Equipment
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1 chef’s knife
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1 rasp-style grater
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1 large stock pot
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound of button mushrooms or any mushroom of choice
- 1/2 pound of celery
- 1 1/2 pounds of leeks green tops removed
- 1 pound of fennel fronds and stalks removed
- 1/3 cup fresh rosemary
- 1/4 cup fresh sage leaves
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 8 cups water
- 2 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon vegetable base
- 2 14-ounce cans of white beans
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano
- 1 lemon for juicing
Optional, for serving
- 6 large slices of sourdough bread torn
Instructions
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First, begin your mise en place. Clean and stem the mushrooms. Dice them and set them aside. Thinly slice the celery, leek, and fennel and set aside. Finely chop the rosemary and sage leaves. Grate the garlic with a rasp-style grater.
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Set a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup of salted butter and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Let the butter fully melt, then add 1/4 cup of all purpose flour and mix it into the fat. Toast for 1-2 minutes.
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Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes or until they are a shade darker in color. You will see them immediately soak up the fat in the pot, and then release it a few minutes later.
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When the fat is starting to sizzle around the mushrooms again, add the rosemary, sage and garlic and stir for only a minute. Then add the sliced celery, leeks and fennel. Cook for 10-15 minutes, letting the vegetables sweat out and reduce in size by half.
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Season with salt, pepper and the 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika and 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.
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Whisk together eight cups of water and two tablespoons of Better than Bouillon vegetable base. Add this to the pot.
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Cover and let this simmer for 30 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as preferred.
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Drain and rinse your two cans of beans and add them to the pot. Add 1/3 cup of cream. Cover and let this simmer for another 5 minutes.
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While the soup is simmering, finely chop the parsley and oregano.
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Taste the soup again and season to taste, then add the parsley, oregano and juice from half a lemon. Remove the soup from the heat but keep it covered until you are ready to serve!
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Optional before serving: tear up six sourdough bread slices into large croutons. Add them to a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350°F until golden. When serving, cover each bowl of soup with the croutons.
