Mushroom Soup--Diet Friendly Version???

[DaisyM]

One of my favorite lunches is the amazing cream of wild mushroom soup at a local place. I can't even imagine how many calories it has...but it is so fantastic. Does anyone know how to make an amazing mushroom soup that isn't ridiculously fattening? Please share!

[blinknoodle]

I like to make a wild mushroom and barley soup. You can puree a portion of the soup to get that creamy texture without the cream.

Here is a good recipe: http://books.google.ca/books?id=YVGVF...

[arp29]

It's not a creamy mushroom soup, but still has plenty of mushroomy flavor!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

The changes I make are: just using a bit of olive oil instead of the margarine, use veggie stock, and crimini mushrooms (not fresh porcinis).

Enjoy!

[danna]

that looks good to me. I would much prefer a beefy broth, perhaps w/ some dried mushroom stock, and fresh mushrooms to a cream soup that muddies the flavor of expensive wild mushrooms.

I find it thrilling that I actually PREFER the low fat verion ;-)

[arp29]

Hi Danna,
I use vegetable broth because I am a vegetarian but I imagine beef broth would lend a deeper flavor and make it even better. I've also used the Pacific Natural Foods mushroom broth with great results. Isn't it nice when eating healthfully doesn't feel like a sacrifice? :-)

[danna]

That mushroom broth sounds good...I need to keep some around in case i'm cooking for my veg friends. A few years ago I had one over at the last minute and was all pleased with myself because in addition to the venison my husband and I were having, I had cooked lentils, butternut squash soup and these (weird) apple sauce and sourdough bread charlottes. About half way through the soup I realized i was poisoning her w/ chicken stock and began obsessing over what I would say if she decided to ask me !!

[cheesecake17]

I keep the Pacific mushroom broth in my pantry- several boxes. It works great in soups and stews and sometimes I'll add a bit to a stirfry. I use it in stuffing also.

[mattstolz]

this is one of the best and healthiest i have bookmarked in my online recipe collection:

http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/200...

[jo_jo_ba]

Well, I know I'm over two years late for this, but my all-time favourite, fat free "creamy" mushroom soup is so good I really wanted to share for anyone who stumbled across the thread! It's a modification of one served at the Oliver & Bonacini restaurant empire in Toronto.
Wild & Tame Mushroom Soup
Serves 4
1/2 large, sweet onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 sprig fresh thyme, chopped
1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped
2 1/2 cups (6.5oz) assorted mushrooms, chopped (I like a mix of lobster, cremini, porcini, morel, shiitake and white button - rehydrate any dried ones in boiling water)
2 cups water
2 cups mushroom stock
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large, non-stick pot, saute onions, garlic and herbs in 1/3 - 1/2 cup water until onions are translucent.
Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, 10 minutes. Add the water and stock, cook 20 minutes.
If using an immersion blender, puree in pot. Otherwise, allow to cool slightly, then puree in batches in a blender before returning to pot and reheating.
Season to taste before serving.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 29.2
Total Fat: 0.2 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 472.9 mg
Total Carbs: 5.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.0 g
Protein: 1.8 g

[magiesmom]

I love the idea of "tame" mushrooms

[cheesecake17]

This is basically how I make my mushroom soup... but I use all mushrooom broth.

[sarah galvin]

Silver Palate has an excellent mushroom soup with no cream. It also freezes well. Let me know if you want a paraphrase.

[keith2000]

if you put equal parts cashews and water in a blender and blend long enough you get cashew cream. That along with some nutritional yeast makes a nice substititue for heavy cream. Finish your soup with it. Don't boil it.

[DaisyM]

I just want to say thank you for all the suggestions. I ended up adding a little rice to the soup and cooked it. I then blended it and it turned out to be so creamy and delicious. I even needed to add more chicken broth to it because it was so thick. Thank you to everyone.

[Sam Fujisaka]

I use a potato and powdered milk.

[sheilal]

I've had good luck with substituting the cream with either fat free greek yogurt or fat free half & half. Personally, I like the tang that the yogurt gives the soups. Plus, it gives it a bit of body.

[tmso]

If you use some potato in the soup, puree it with the broth, and enrich with low-fat crème fraîche, it should be lovely. That last is hard to find in the US, but you could look at the fat content of your locally available crema mexicana -- it might just be low-fat, for reasons of cheapness. Or use low-fat plain yogurt (although, again, I know that's tough to find in the US, of good quality at least).

[The Old Gal]

If you add about 1/4 white rice/per quart of liquid to the mix ...depending on what recipe you use it will be added at a different time....you need about 25 minutes at simmer. Then, when you are closer to finished, blend it. That will give you the thickness you want and you probably only need a tiny bit of milk or cream to get where you want to go.
That was a Julia Child solution.

[Miss Needle]

Great trick! Deborah Madison's asparagus soup also calls for rice. It gives it a nice "creaminess" without adding any fat.

[Sarah]

I use JC's technique for all my "cream of" soups and they turn out great. Pure veggie essence -- she suggests adding a dollop of sour cream to enrich when serving.

[allisonw]

Julia discusses at length the rice for cream soup thing in her book, "The Way To Cook", which is one of my most used cookbooks.

[bex109]

I usually start by sauteeing onions in olive oil, then add garlic, then add a mix of mostly crimini/some white button mushrooms. Meanwhile, I soak some good quality wild mushrooms in boiling water. When the stuff in the pan is done, I blend it with the soaked wild mushrooms, and just enough of the soaking liquid to get everything moving. I blend till it's smooth and add liquid till it's just a touch thicker than I like, and then add a swirl of half and half. The mushrooms have enough body that you don't really feel cheated...I usually top it off with fresh thyme and a Parmesan crisp

[DaisyM]

That sounds great! I'm going to a mushroom festival this weekend and I'm going to buy a variety to try it. I'm thinking that it would be nice to also have some pieces of whole mushrooms in there, too. Thanks again....

[scuzzo]

I second this.

An alternative might be to try puree roasted or sauteed cauliflower. I makes a nice, creamy blend that might be great with mushrooms. For seasoning mushroom I like a little sage and cajun spice blend.

[nofunlatte]

Though I've not done this with creamy mushroom soup, one trick is to replace heavy cream with evaporated skim milk. You could always add a small amount of cream for richness without instant artery blockage. It probably won't taste exactly the same, but then again, you're reducing a lot of the saturated fat.