Ruth Reichl's Mushroom Soup

Speaking of mushrooms, here's a recipe for mushroom soup from Ruth Reichl's fantastic memoir Comfort Me with Apples. In the book, Reichl talks about how she made this soup every day during a particularly hard time in her life, because it's the most soothing soup she knew how to make. "It is the most perfect prescription for those in need of solace," Reichl writes. While I'm not experiencing any particular hardship now - well, I am sad that the writer's strike is still going on and there are no more new episodes of Heroes and 30 Rock for me to watch - this recipe is still great, especially for cold weather.

Mushroom Soup
Serves 4

1/2 lb mushrooms
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1 small onion, diced
4 tablespoons flour
1 cup beef broth
2 cups half-and-half
salt, pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 bay leaf

Thinly slice mushrooms.


Melt butter in a heavy pan. When foam subsides, add the onion and sauté until golden. Add the mushrooms and sauté until brown.

Stir in the flour, and then slowly add the broth, stirring constantly.

Heat the half-and-half in a saucepan or in the microwave. Add it to the mushrooms, along with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and bay leaf. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes; do not boil.

Remove the bay leaf and serve.

The only problem I've encountered making this recipe has been in Taiwan, where beef broth is hard to come by. I've substituted using this beef stew paste I found in the Mitsugoshi supermarket (which came out fine) and vegetable bouillon (which wasn't so good). I guess you can also try using mushroom broth as a substitute? In any case, I still highly recommend it!