Julia Child Mushroom Soup
Loren Swaggr
While the broth is heating, melt three tablespoons of the butter in a Dutch oven or large saucepan (at least 2 1/2 quarts) over low heat. Add the onions and cook them slowly for about 10 minutes. Stir in the flour, raise the heat a little and continue cooking the onions for three or four more minutes. Stir continuously, being careful not to brown the flour and onions.
Remove the onions and flour from the heat and stir in the hot broth. Make sure that the onion and flour mixture is well blended with the liquid. Add 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and the chopped mushroom stems. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the broth partially covered for 20 or 30 minutes.
After 20 minutes or so, strain the broth through a sieve or colander with fine holes into a large bowl to remove the solids. Press the juice from the chopped mushroom stems, onions and parsley and return the broth to the large pan. Discard the solids.
In a two quart saucepan, melt two tablespoons of the butter over moderate heat until it is foaming and toss in the sliced mushrooms with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a teaspoon of lemon juice. Stir, reduce the heat, cover and cook slowly for five minutes.
To finish the soup, beat two egg yolks until smooth with a whisk, and then whisk them thoroughly into a half to three-quarter cup of heavy cream in a mixing bowl. While beating continuously, very slowly add one to two cups of the hot broth to the eggs and cream mixture.
Heat the broth in the large pan until it starts to steam. While whisking continuously, gradually add the cream and egg mixture to the broth. Stir the soup over moderate heat for three or four minutes to poach the eggs. Stir continuously and do not let the soup come to a simmer.
When I can find them at a reasonable price, I like to use baby bella mushrooms for this soup. I think that they give it a more intense mushroom flavor, but white button mushrooms make a great soup too.
When I decided to recreate this classic dish at home, my first thought was to learn from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. The original recipe is really long and it took me quite some time to figure out all the steps. Today I want to document my experience while making the recipe slightly shorter and easier to follow.
The original recipe removes the stems of the mushrooms, cooks the stems separately in the stock, and discards them at the end. The rationale is that this removes the tougher part of the mushrooms while infusing more flavor into the soup. However, I found the step unnecessary because the stem part never bothered me. Plus, the extra simmering and straining steps are quite time consuming.
The original soup uses 6 cups of chicken stock, is simmered for 30 minutes, and uses 4 egg yolks to make the soup creamy. To shorten the cooking time and to make the soup less calorie-dense, I used less stock and skipped the egg yolks for a soup that is just as creamy.
The original recipe strains the broth, so it removes the mushroom stems and minced onion. Since I kept the mushrooms whole, I skipped this step because the onion in the soup tastes very good. If you want to keep your soup smooth, you could strain the broth in step 5 before adding the mushrooms. Or you could transfer the broth into a blender to mix the onion in.
This is a very nice recipe and very close to the original. I used a tray of mixed varieties of mushrooms (Lidl sells them in Europe) which worked well though I think I would increase the proportion of mushrooms overall, but maybe not if those you use are strongly flavoured.
I have made Julia Childs Cream of Mushroom Soup and your recipe is every bit as good and so much easier to make. Thank you for the recipe and like you I did not use eggs and my soup was very creamy.
Thank you for putting this out here. I browned the onions and mushrooms together, added the flour and simmered them in the stock. It imparted a deep mushroom flavor into the soup. I also reduced the stock by a cup and replaced it with half & half (no eggs). Also, a dash of sherry. It was amazing!
Delicious and unique mushroom soup recipe. Felt like a chef making it. So so easy to make as well. Adding the cream with egg yolks turned it into a 5 star recipe! This renewed my joy of cooking.
Cook the onions slowly in 3 tbsp butter for 8 to 10 minutes, until tender but not browned. Add the flour and stir over moderate heat for 3 minutes without browning. Off heat, beat in the boiling broth and blend it thoroughly with the flour. Season to taste. Stir in the mushroom stems, and simmer partially covered for 20 minutes or more, skimming occasionally. Strain, pressing juices out of mushroom stems. Return the soup to the pan. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a separate saucepan. When it is foaming, toss in the mushrooms, 1/4 tsp salt and lemon juice. Cover and cook slowly for 5 minutes. Pour the mushrooms and their cooking juices into the strained soup base. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Beat the egg yolks and cream into the mixing bowl. Then beat in hot soup by spoonfuls until a cup has been added. Gradually stir in the rest. Correct seasoning. Return the soup to the pan and stir over moderate heat for a minute or two to poach the egg yolks, but do not let the soup come near the simmer. Off heat, stir in 1 to 3 tbsp softened butter by tablespoons. Pour the soup into a tureen or soup cups, and decorate with optional mushrooms and herbs.
Last year, I spent about two months in southern France eating all kinds of delectable foods. I ate un potage velout aux champignons only once and it was prepared with fresh mushrooms we foraged for in the nearby woods. This recipe is highly reminiscent of that one beautiful bowl of soup in France.
Whisk the egg yolks and cream together in the large mixing bowl. Then, take a ladleful of the hot soup and slowly beat it into the egg yolks, drizzling as you beat. After the ladle has been added, slowly pour the remaining soup into the egg, stirring constantly. Return the soup to the original saucepan and adjust the seasoning. Stir over moderate heat for 15 to 30 seconds to poach the egg yolks. Do not let the soup come to a simmer because that will make the eggs set, leaving you with weirdly chunky soup.
Sprinkle with flour and cook, stirring, until frothy, about one minute. Then stir in the chicken stock, bring mixture to a boil, and stir in the mushroom stems. Cover the pan by half, reduce heat to low, and simmer about 20 minutes.
In a frying pan over medium heat, melt remaining butter and add mushroom caps with a little salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Lower heat, cover and cook, stirring once or twice, until juice runs from the mushrooms and they are wilted, eight to 10 minutes. Set aside.
Strain soup into a big bowl, pressing to extract all liquids. Discard solids. Pour liquid back into saucepan and add the cooked, sliced mushrooms with their liquid. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice, and simmer 10 minutes. (Soup may be prepared up to this point two days ahead and refrigerated, covered, or frozen.)
Just before serving, heat soup to boiling point. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks with cream and stir in 3 to 4 tablespoons hot soup. Remove from heat and whisk this mixture into the rest of the soup to thicken and enrich it. (Do not heat soup again, as it will curdle.)
This soup has a nice delicate mushroom flavor. The mushrooms are sliced, not minced, so it has a robust texture. If you like a smoother consistency, blend it in a blender or with an immersion blender on high for several minutes.
We typically use white button mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, or baby portobello mushrooms for this soup. These mushrooms all have great flavor, release a lot of juice, and maintain their structure. However, if you feel like experimenting with different varieties, there are many to choose from.
This recipe is inspired by Julia Child's mushroom soup in Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. 1. These mushrooms are sliced, not minced, so it has a robust texture. If you like a smoother consistency, blend it in a blender or with an immersion blender on high for several minutes.
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Chop the onion. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion and saut. While it is beginning to saut, chop the carrots. Add the carrots and saut with the onion until they are both soft and starting to turn golden.
While they are cooking, chop the garlic and pluck the thyme leaves from the branches. Trim and quarter the mushrooms. Add the garlic and thyme to the pot. Stir. After a minute, and the mushrooms. Stir and cook about 10 minutes over simmering heat, until everything is soft. Pour in the vegetable broth, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer for 20 minutes.
I've been a vegetarian for 25 years, and come from a family who are passionate about cooking and collecting cookbooks. My 8.5 years living in China broadened my cooking range, as I was often cooking with Chinese friends and their families in their homes across the country. Cooking is a joy, a way to evoke memories of friends and places.
After the onions are fully caramelized, sprinkle them with flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the wine in full, then stock, a little at a time, stirring between additions. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and simmer partially covered for 30 to 40 more minutes, skimming if needed. Correct seasonings if needed but go easy on the salt as the cheese will add a bit more saltiness and I often accidentally overdo it. Stir in the cognac, if using. I think you should.
This recipe reminds me of watching Julia Child on TV and it made such an impression on me when the person standing next to her asked her if she ever ate soup from a can. She answered yes, french onion, with some cognac added..
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