Back again with another classic soup – Mushroom Soup but this time, we’re adding miso into the mix to add another layer of depth and umami. If you guys don’t know what miso is, it’s a Japanese soy bean paste that’s salty, savoury and packed full of flavour; making it a perfect partner in crime to mushrooms.

There are 3 main components to this dish: The mushrooms, miso and bread

1. The mushrooms: i highly encourage you to use a variety of different mushrooms. I used white buttom, swiss brown and portobello. The mushrooms need to be browned nicely and that would require doing it batches so it does take some patience!
2. Miso: it’s a Japanese fermented soy bean paste. I know it sounds scary but it’s not funky at all! It’s savoury, flavourful and so nutritious. You can find it in most supermarkets nowadays but if you can’t, try your local Asian grocery store.
3. Bread: i used sliced ciabatta, toasted in butter. Trust me, you need the bread and butter. You can use whatever bread you have on hand also.

Ingredients

1 shallot, minced
1 leek, white part sliced
3-5 garlic cloves, minced
600-800g mushrooms, sliced (whatever variety you want, i used white buttom, swiss brown and portobello)
3 tbsp white miso
1/2 cup white wine, omit if you don’t drink
1/2 tbsp paprika
1/2 tbsp thyme
3-4 cups mushroom stock (or chicken stock if you can’t find it)
Cornstarch slurry (1:2 ratio cornstarch to water), adjust amount of slurry to achieve desired soup consistency
1/2 cup heavy cream, optional
Parsley to garnish
Cream to garnish
Bread, sliced and toasted in butter

Method

1. In a pan with a bit of olive oil, brown your mushrooms. This will take a long time and you will need to do it in batches. I recommend having 2 pans on.
2. In a separate pot, melt a knob of butter. Add in the leeks, garlic and shallots, and saute until softened. Followed by the browned mushrooms and miso paste. Saute well so that the miso is well incorporated into the mixture.
3. Deglaze with the white wine and allow the wine to reduce by half, then add in the paprika and thyme. Stir well.
4. Pour in the stock and cream, cover and let it boil for 5-10 minutes. Season to taste.
5. Meanwhile, make your cornstarch slurry but mixing cornstarch and water in a 1:2 ratio. The amount of slurry you need will depend on how thick you want to soup to be.
6. Add the slurry to the pot, a little at a time until the desired consistency is achieved.
7. Garnish with parsley, heavy cream and a drizzle of truffle oil (optional). Serve with toasted bread slices.