Creamy Mushroom Leek Soup with Peppery Parmesan Croutons {Naptime Everyday}
What’s Going on Today: Sickos at home over Christmas vacation – not fun!
Naptime Goals: Nap. Make Soup.
Tonight’s Menu: Creamy Mushroom Leek Soup with Peppery Parmesan Croutons, Clementines, Sudafed.
I made this soup over the weekend to get us back to neutral. Right after Christmas Day a solid mass of winter germs swept through our house. My daughter was on antibiotics in less than twenty-four hours and I was obsessively slurping down hot tea and clementines to beat my own sniffles and burning throat. My husband, lucky devil, was away in the office and generally avoided getting too close to us when he was home. During the day my daughter and I adopted a solid afternoon nap schedule. She napped for longer than I did, so when I got up from my rest I used my brief burst of energy to make some healing soups. Early in the week I started with a big batch of Tomato Florentine to use up the spinach from Christmas dinner. Later in the week I moved on to using up the rest of the mushrooms I’d purchased for our holiday pot pie.
Much like in Leek & Potato Soup, the base of this soup comes from oniony leeks, which are cooked until very soft, then the mushrooms are added in. To achieve the smooth texture I added a touch of whole milk and pureed the soup with my hand blender. After I whipped this up during naptime and moved the whole soup pot straight to the fridge for the afternoon. Thank goodness she was given some new DVD’s for Christmas, we certainly got a lot of use out of them last week!
For dinner I reheated the soup and added some homemade croutons from the last of the brioche we had leftover from our Christmas overnight french toast. In this case I added a extra dose of pepper because I love how pepper clears up my sinuses when I am under the weather. My husband also ate a sandwich alongside the soup, but I didn’t have the appetite. I happily sipped away at my nourishing broth, waiting for it to bring me back to health so I could start looking forward to a healthy, happy new year!
Recipe
Creamy Mushroom Leek Soup with Peppery Parmesan Croutons
Ingredients
For the soup:
| 2 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
| 2 | medium leeks, white and green parts only |
| 2 | cups cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced |
| ¼ | cup white wine |
| 2 | tablespoons all-purpose flour |
| 2 | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
| 1/3 cup whole milk
| pinch kosher salt |
For the croutons:
| 2 | large slices brioche, cut into ¼-inch pieces |
| 2 | tablespoons olive oil |
| 1 | tablespoon grated Parmesan |
| 2 | teaspoons freshly cracked pepper |
Instructions
1. Trim the leeks and use only the white and green parts. Cut them into thin rounds, no more than ½-inch thick. Plunge the rounds into a bowl of cold water and swish them around thoroughly to wash any dirt out of the leeks. Repeat this until the water is completely clean.
2. In a heavy bottomed soup pan melt the butter and add the leeks. Saute them for about 5 minutes, or until they are completely wilted and translucent. Then add the mushrooms and sauté for another 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms have shrunk and become a darker brown.
3. Pour in the wine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Once it is nearly evaporated add in the flour and stir for one minute. Then slowly whisk in the stock until there are no lumps left. Pour in the milk and add the salt. Feel free to add more salt to taste if necessary.
4. Simmer the soup for 5 minutes, then add puree it with a hand blender or in a standing blender. Serve warm, topped with the croutons.
5. To make the croutons: Toss the bread, olive oil, Parmesan and pepper in a large bowl until bread is evenly coated. Warm a skillet to medium, add the bread and turn it occasionally until completely toasted. About 5 minutes.
Naptime Notes
Naptime Recipe Serving ideas
This makes an excellent first course for a larger dinner and also terrific when paired with a sandwich for a hearty lunch.
Naptime Stopwatch
10 minutes prep time, 15 minutes cook time
Naptime Reviews
My husband enjoyed this soup and I loved it. I still credit it for my somewhat quick recovery in time for our New Year’s party!
this soup sounds wonderful – thanks for tweeting it – I’ve added it to my list to try!
Enjoy it, Robin!
Much healthier with the mushrooms than my Leek-Potato Soup – adding to my soup collection.
Enjoy, Liz!
Mmm. That sounds great. I love the flavors of leeks and they combine so well with mushrooms.
I agree, Sarah, it is really a great combination. Enjoy!
[…] This Week’s Recipe: Each week, we give you something to talk about at dinner time, and now, something to eat too! Tonight’s recipe comes to us from The Naptime Chef: Creamy Mushroom Leek Soup with Peppery Parmesan Croutons. […]
This sounds so good. We are big mushroom lovers over here. I bet this is really great to serve in small portions just before a plate of pasta. Mmmm!
[…] What’s Going on Today: Post-holiday down time. Everyone in their jammies, finally on the mend. […]
[…] Creamy Mushroom Leek Soup with Peppery Parmesan Croutons | The Naptime Chef My husband, lucky devil, was away in the office and generally avoided getting too close to us when he was home. During the day my daughter and I adopted a solid afternoon nap schedule. She napped for longer than I did, so when I got up from my rest I used my brief burst of energy to make some healing soups. Early in the week I started with a big batch of Tomato Florentine to use up the spinach from Christmas dinner. Later in the week I moved on to using up the rest of the mushrooms I’d purchased for our holiday pot pie. […]
[…] Mushroom Leek Soup with Peppery Parmesan Croutons (vegetarian) : This creamy soup is perfect for making well in advance and can even be packed in lunchboxes. Serve […]
I made this recipe for my family tonight and we LOVED it! I didn’t do the croutons but instead added 1/4 cup fresh parmesan and 1tsp pepper directly to the soup when pureeing it. Outstanding! Next time I will double it. Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
Hi Clarice – I am so glad!! I love the idea of adding the Parmesan straight to the soup. I’ll have to try that!
[…] such a well-trained eye for good recipes! I am always looking for new ways to make mushroom soup. My old favorite is delish, but we all need change now and then. I promise, you’ll love the smooth silky […]