Shaker Gourmet: Soup Recipes!

Since autumn is fast approaching, at least in my neck of the woods, I thought it would be a good time to revisit sharing our favorite soup recipes.

Got a great recipe for an autumnal soup or stew? Share away!

(Btw, there are also, in the Shaker Gourmet archive, back when Misty was running it regularly, a bunch of great soup recipes!)

As I've mentioned before, although I love to cook and experiment in the kitchen, I am a terrible provider of recipes, because I cook by my palate rather than by measurement. But here's my best attempt at a recipe for a potato mushroom soup I make that Iain and I enjoy.

Ingredients:

Olive Oil
Unsalted chicken or vegetable stock
Half and half
Madeira wine
Minced garlic
Diced shallots
Minced parsley (or dried)
Sliced mushrooms
Sliced potatoes (skin-on)
Salt and pepper to taste

In the bottom of your soup pot, warm a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium to high heat. Once it's hot, add the garlic and shallots. Sweat 'em. Add the mushrooms and let them cook for a minute or two. Add about a cup of the Madeira wine, and let it reduce a bit. Add several cups of the stock and a generous splash of the half and half. Add salt and pepper to your preference. Bring to a boil. Add the potatoes; the stock should cover the potatoes and then some, to make sure you have plenty of broth. Boil for a few minutes, then turn down and let it simmer until a fork slides through a potato with no resistance. Add parsley and dig in!

If you're not interested in keeping this recipe vegetarian, adding bacon at the beginning of the dish is also very yummy. If you add the bacon, though, be careful with adding salt later in the cooking, so you don't accidentally oversalt it.

If you are interested in keeping this recipe vegetarian (or even if you're not), adding kale at the end of the dish, giving it just a minute or two of cooking time, so it wilts but keeps some texture, is also very yummy.