Tyler Florence Fridays -- Wild Mushroom with Roasted Fennel and Chestnut Soup

The Wild Mushroom with Roasted Fennel and Chestnut Soup was my choice this week for Tyler Florence Fridays because I was craving mushroom soup, mushrooms were on sale and I decided to give fresh fennel another chance.

This mushroom soup was, by far, the best mushroom soup I've ever tasted. Although I make mushroom soup several times a year, Tyler's recipe with the roasted fennel and chestnuts and the addition of Thyme was outstanding! And I'm entering my soup in the Souper Soup Challenge hosted by Running with Tweezers.

Three lbs of mushrooms was just too big of a recipe for us, so I cut down the recipe. I used 1 lb white mushrooms and 1 lb Baby 'bellas, 8 c. chicken stock and 1 large fennel bulb. I could not not find the whole chestnuts and substituted a small can of Watered Chestnuts and roasted them in the oven with a drizzle of EVOO for about 5-6 minutes, just long enough to caramelize a little. The rest of the ingredients I used as listed.



Wild Mushroom with Roasted Fennel and Chestnut Soup
Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence

6 small fennel bulbs, stalks removed, halved lengthwise
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
½ bunch fresh thyme sprigs, leaves stripped from the stem
1 pound white button mushrooms, thoroughly washed and coarsely chopped
1 pound oyster mushrooms, thoroughly washed and coarsely chopped
1 pound chanterelle mushrooms, thoroughly washed and coarsely chopped
1 pound cooked chestnuts
3 quarts chicken stock
½ cup heavy cream
Fresh chopped chives, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Put the fennel halves, cut-side up, in a baking dish and drizzle generously with olive oil. Sprinkle on a generous amount of salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes or until completely tender - the roasted fennel is the base of the soup, so it's important the flesh is soft enough to be cut with a spoon. When the fennel is cool, cut into 1" slices and separate. Reserve until ready to serve.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. (I used 1 TBL butter and 2 TBL EVOO)

Add the onion and garlic, and sauté for 4 minutes until translucent.

Toss the thyme into the pan, along with the mushrooms and roasted fennel, season with salt and pepper.

Cook, stirring, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the mushrooms give off their liquid.

Add the chestnuts and cook for a few more minutes until they have some nice color on them.

Remove about 1 cup of the mixture to save as a garnish.

Pour stock into the pot and bring to a boil. (Use real stock, not "broth")
Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from the heat and purée the soup until completely smooth, using a stick mixer or a regular blender. (If you use a blender, purée in batches. The blender should never be more than one-third full -- and hold the top of the blender down with a hand towel.)

Pour the puréed soup back into a pot. Stir in the cream to make the soup even richer, and simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Adjust the seasonings to your taste.

To serve: Ladle the soup into soup bowls; garnish each serving with a bit of the reserved mushrooms and chestnuts, add a roasted fennel half, and sprinkle with chopped chives.


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