Souping has become one of my latest addictions recently, I have well and truly jumped onto the bandwagon and am loving every single minute of it. It appears that ‘souping’ is everywhere at the moment and might even be knocking juicing off the top spot; but there has been a lot of controversy surrounding how good for you juicing actually is. So is that the case when it comes to soups? Like with everything, there will always be positives and negatives, but what I can say is that I’m a huge fan of souping- it’s a quick, simple and delicious way of getting heaps of vegetable goodness into a meal and you can customise your souping creations however you like. I think that I might prefer this to juicing, because you can incorporate a vast range of nutrients- including protein and healthy fats and there’s usually a lot less sugar in there too. Soups are great as a starter, snack, light meal or even a nice hearty one, as you can add in some beans and pulses to bulk it out and provide protein. This mushroom soup is one of my current favourites and makes the perfect light lunch or starter. In my opinion, it’s everything a mushroom soup should be; it’s smooth, creamy, rich in flavour and seasoned with beautiful fresh thyme. Not to mention, it only consists of a few simple, nutritious ingredients and can be made from scratch in a matter of minutes!
Mushroom soup was definitely something that has grown on me over the years, as I wasn’t always a huge fan (possibly something to do with the texture- who knows!). I wanted to create a soup that was really smooth and creamy, but without having to add any actual milk.. therefore, I’ve given this a slight twist and chosen to use coconut milk instead! I love the flavour that the coconut milk provides and it’s so luxuriously rich and creamy, as well as being full of amazing healthy fats! This also means that this recipe is completely dairy free and suitable for vegans. My favourite brand of coconut milk to use is Coconut Merchant, but if I don’t have any in the cupboard, I will make my own. I know what you’re thinking, this sounds like a lot of work, but I promise you it’s really not! I will post a full recipe for this soon, but basically all it involves is blending desiccated coconut and water.. and that’s it!
Ingredients:
350g mushrooms- I use a mixture of chestnut and mini portobello mushrooms
1/2 white onion
2 cloves of garlic
Black pepper
Seas salt to taste
1/2 cup Coconut Merchant coconut milk
Fresh thyme
200-300ml vegetable stock
Method:
Start off by dicing your onion, add this into a frying pan and crush in the garlic cloves. Saute both of these until the onion becomes translucent.
Wash and slice your mushrooms and throw these into the pan along with the onion. Season with some fresh thyme and black pepper and cook on a medium heat until the mushrooms have softened.
Add the cooked vegetables into a blender along with 200ml of the vegetable stock and coconut milk and blend until completely smooth. Season with salt and pepper and add more stock if you’d like the soup to be thinner.
I love to serve this topped with extra mushrooms stir fried in garlic and herbs- enjoy!
