Preheat the
oven to 400 degrees. Grease the bottom of a medium-size roasting pan or
ovenproof skillet with 1 tsp of the oil. Add the onions and garlic and
top with the mushrooms. Drizzle the remaining teaspoon of oil on top and
season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Roast the mushrooms, stirring once
or twice, for 20 minutes. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and pour
the sherry into the mushrooms, scraping up any brown bits. Add the stock
to the pan. Working in batches, puree the mushroom mixture in a food
processor or blender until smooth.
Transfer the
soup to a medium-size saucepan and season to taste. Add the cream and
simmer over low heat until hot throughout, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the
soup with the parsley and serve hot with the toast of French bread.
Makes 4
servings
Portobellos
are a large, earthy-flavored variety of mushroom that can be transformed
into an outrageous, surprisingly rich soup. When they are roasted along
with a few onions and cloves of garlic, your kitchen will fill with an
irresistible meaty scent. You will swear there is beef roasting in your
oven. If you can't find fresh portobello mushrooms, substitute fresh
shiitakes or cepes. You can also use regular white mushrooms, but in the
case we had suggest substituting beef broth for the vegetable or chicken
stock. This soup also makes a great first course for a roast beef or
pork dinner. Serve it with warm black bread and a hearty red wine. It
would also make a great addition to an eggplant Thanksgiving dinner.
