It has started to get chilly, so mushroom soup was on the menu. The question I ask myself is, do I find mushroom soup comforting and oh, so delicious or do I just love mushrooms?

This got me thinking back to when my siblings and I were little. One day our late Father brought home a cardboard box filled with what looked like dirt. The box was placed on top of the fridge and we were told to water it. Seemingly, like magic, mushrooms appeared, this could have been the start of my love for the humble mushroom. Why does it seem that everything tastes better when you see it grow and get to eat it fresh?

Growing up in a Portuguese home, food for me was more than nourishment, it was about celebration. Being the daughter and granddaughter of immigrants may have something to do with the way I view food. Mr T &T and I left our families and moved to a different continent, nothing gives us greater pleasure than sharing our cuisine with friends here. It seems everything about a meal, a great piece of fruit, vegetable or a delicious slice of cake can invoke a great food memory.



The technique used here is knife skills. Something as mundane as chopping vegetables and slicing mushrooms can be used as an opportunity to practise knife skills. Try cutting the potato and onion into an even dice and to have an even and finely sliced leeks and mushrooms.

The recipe called for small diced potato and onions, finely sliced leeks and mushrooms.In my opinion this will maximise the flavour instead of large chunks of the vegetables and mushrooms.

Once the onions have been cooked with the potatoes, the leeks and mushrooms are added and cooked until soft. Vegetable stock, milk and cream are added and allowed to come to the boil and then let to simmer.



The garnish I used for the soup was  fried slithers of mushroom and a sprinkle of finely chopped  parsley. A warm crusty bread roll would be a perfect accompaniment to the soup. 

         

The recipe I used was from the "Heston Blumenthal at Home" recipe book.