It’s been a little over a year now since I’ve started making mushroom soup with a clear broth. In searching for the right recipe I found one that had the perfect mix of vegetables and the herb that was the exact match for mushrooms. All the flavors come together in what I like to call earth meets earth. The woodsy taste is spot on! It’s light, it’s healthy and super easy to make. This recipe is made with button mushrooms and as you read on you’ll see I went out on a limb with a wild one.
A few weeks back my friend Davida, gave me elephant ear mushrooms from her backyard. Elephant ear mushrooms are also called false morels. A false morel is a mushroom that has wrinkles, folds or flaps. Well, it was just natural for me to make my soup and share a recipe that included mushrooms and fresh thyme from the backyard. Talk about yard to table…. I thought it would be a great post and the soup was delicious. Then I started reading up on elephant ear mushrooms to find out that they are poisonous. Yikes, scratch that idea. Davida and her neighbors have been eating the mushrooms for quite some time. I made the soup, BF and I ate it, I gave some to Davida, and my neighbor Carol. We all survived. So I guess you could say, not so poisonous in our neck of the woods. This is not a recipe using elephant ear mushrooms and I’m not encouraging you to try this mushroom, I’m just using this as an example of a wild mushroom that is classified as poisonous being safe in my friend’s backyard. You can even find recipes using elephant ear mushrooms on the internet. It’s best to be cautious with any mushroom that is growing wild.
Here’s Davida cutting the mushrooms. They can grow out of a stump or even a stack of wood. I’m sure the unusually wet summer contributed to their continuous growth. Mushrooms are packed with all kinds of health benefits including; B vitamins, selenium, no preservatives, no cholesterol, low sodium and low on calories. And – they’re delicious and fun to add to all sorts of dishes. On a side note, years ago my Uncle Barney grew mushrooms in his basement. His green thumb has always kept him on the cutting edge of health and wellness. Go Uncle Barney!
There you have it. Mushrooms are neither a meat or a vegetable but considered the “meat” of the vegetable world. After being introduced to wild elephant ear mushrooms, I now have a deeper appreciation for morel hunting. If you never venture into the wild mushroom world, please consider adding the store bought varieties to your diet. They really are good for us in so many ways. Just watch the cream sauces. Yum!
If you have a mushroom story, please consider sharing it in the comments below.
Thanks for stopping by, Rose
- 3 tablespoon of unsalted butter
- 1 cup carrots, sliced
- 1 cup celery sliced
- 1 cup onions sliced
- 4 large garlic cloves chopped
- 2-3 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 pounds of mushrooms cleaned and sliced (for this recipe I used button mushrooms)
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- pepper to taste. I use fresh ground pepper
- Melt butter in a large pot.
- Add carrots, celery, onions, and garlic.
- Cook until tender and do not brown. Approximately 10 minutes.
- Add thyme, mushrooms, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Heat until a soft boil and then lower heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes.
- Remove from heat and serve.