Creamy Chanterelle Mushroom Soup

Summer means my favorite mushroom is at hand. Although morels get all the glory, they are hard to find. I’ve long said that if Realtree wanted to make a pattern that disappeared on the forest floor, it should look like a morel mushroom. Others find them by the truck bed full, but I’m lucky to locate enough of that species to make a good meal each spring.

Unlike morels, summer chanterelle mushrooms are easy to spot on the forest floor. Images by author.

Chanterelles, on the other hand, shine like a bright yellow beacon on the summer forest floor. Even better, where you find one, you will likely find several more, making picking a mess for dinner a quick and easy task. As with all wild mushrooms, start your foraging journey with a seasoned mushroom hunter. Lacking a good mentor, get yourself two or three good wild mushroom books, and cross-reference each one for mushrooms you find. Eating the wrong mushroom can cause pretty severe gastric issues. Or worse. Make sure you are picking safe options.

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Luckily, chanterelles are among the easiest wild mushrooms to identify. Growing directly on the forest floor, never on live or dead trees, the chanterelle ranges from red to bright yellow to a pale cream color. Regardless of exterior color, the interior will be white and peel apart like string cheese.

The interior of a chanterelle will always be creamy white and peel apart in long fibers.

The mushrooms should have a light apricot scent. On the bottom of the chanterelle head, you will find false gills. They will look like individual gills but won’t separate when you run the blade of a knife lightly over them.

After you have picked your mushrooms, the next step is to get them clean. Leaf litter, soil, the occasional bug — all of that needs to go. Although some people don’t like to soak or even run water over their mushrooms in fear that they will soak up extra moisture, I haven’t found that to be an issue.

Don’t worry about the mushrooms absorbing water. A quick soak helps the cleaning process.

To clean them, I run a couple of inches of cold water into my sink, dump in the mushrooms, and then use a brush or paper towel to wipe away debris under running water.

Use a brush or damp paper towel and running water to clean debris from the mushrooms.

When the mushroom is clean, move it to a clean kitchen towel to dry, and repeat the process.

Allow the mushrooms to dry on a clean towel after cleaning.

After your mushrooms have been cleaned, cut them into small bite-sized pieces. This speeds the cooking process and gives the finished soup a nice texture with mushroom in every bite.

Chopping the mushrooms into small bites adds mushroom goodness to every spoonful.

Because the mushrooms simmer for quite a while, this is an excellent recipe when your mushrooms are just a bit past their prime.

Chop the mushrooms into small bites.

Add mushrooms to a dry pot over medium heat. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes. The mushrooms will release their moisture and start to soften. When the moisture has mostly evaporated, move the mushrooms to one side. Add the butter and oil, and then add the onion and shallot.

When the moisture has released from the mushrooms in a dry pan, add the oil and butter, and then sauté the onion, shallot and garlic.

Keep sautéing until the onions start to caramelize. Add the garlic and cook for another three to five minutes. Add the tied rosemary sprigs at this point.

Add stock, mix again and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low-medium heat, and season with salt, pepper and beef base or crumbled bouillon cubes.

Add stock, and simmer the soup.

Pour in wine, and allow to cook for two or three minutes. Sprinkle mushrooms with flour, mix well and cook for another three to four minutes.

Add marsala wine.

Cover and allow to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, while stirring occasionally, until thickened. If you desire a thicker soup at this point, make a slurry with the corn starch and water. Add it to the soup, and bring to a boil to thicken. Reduce heat to low, and stir in cream or half and half.

Stir in cream or half and half.

Allow to gently simmer (do not boil). Adjust salt and pepper to your taste. Mix in parsley and chopped thyme.

Add the fresh herbs a few minutes before the soup is ready.

This soup is thick and hearty enough to make a complete meal. Serve it up with some crusty bread for an extra treat.

This soup can be served alongside a sandwich or made into an entire meal on its own.

Serve warm. The leftovers reheat well.

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