Mushroom and Spinach Chowder
Although I already have recipes for mushroom soup, I made this one with broth, potatoes, celery and spinach. It was a lovely soup and with all of the vegetables it is on the edge of being a chowder. I used Trader Joe's Mushroom Unami spice to liven it up. It was delicious and took very little time. This is made with both dried and fresh baby portabella mushrooms!
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Ingredients
- 2 Oz Baby portabella mushrooms About three for garnish
- 2 Oz Dried mushrooms
- 1/2 Cup Hot water To hydrate mushrooms
- 3 Medium Russet potatoes Sub 6 to 8 fingerlings
- 2 Stalks Celery
- 1/2 Small Sweet onion
- 2 Cups Fresh spinach
- 28 OZ Portabella Mushroom Broth I use Pacific Organic Mushroom broth
- 8 OZ Portabella Mushroom Broth Used to blend the dried mushrooms
- 1/2 TSP Garlic powder
- 1/2 TSP Onion Powder
- 1 TSP Trader Joe's Mushroom Umami seasoning If you do not have this, double the garlic and onion powder and add 1/4 Tsp pepper flakes.
- 1/4 TSP Thyme
- 1/4 TSP Nutmeg Nutmeg is strong. Add a pinch to your liking but no more than 1/4 TSP.
- 1/4 TSP Ea Salt and Pepper To taste
- 1 TSP Black Truffle Oil Optional
- Sprinkle Bagel Seasoning Optional garnish
Instructions
- Rinse dried mushrooms and place in a bowl of hot water to soften.
- Rinse spinach in a bowl of water. Swish the leaves to loosen any dirt caught on the leaves. Discard stems. Change the water at least once as needed.
- Peel and dice the onion into a 1/4" dice. Place into saucepan with a few tablespoons of mushroom broth and turn on the heat to medium high. Cook for 5 minutes while preparing the rest of the vegetables.
- Peel and chop the potatoes into 1/2" pieces and place into the saucepan.
- Wash and de-string the celery. Slice very thin slices, about 1/4". Add to your saucepan.
- Add 28 oz of the mushroom broth and the seasonings to the sauce pan.
- Cook over medium heat until the vegetables start to soften.
- Wipe off and trim the mushrooms. Thinly slice the mushrooms and add into the soup.
- Add truffle oil to your blender carafe.
- Add dried mushrooms (including the water) plus 1 cup of broth to you blender .
- Blend on low 3 minutes then on high for 3.
- Add the blended mushrooms to the soup.
- Drain spinach and add in to the soup. Allow the spinach to wilt for several minutes while you gather up your bowls.
- Serve as a soup with a little bagel seasoning on top.
Notes
This is a Snap Pea Sheep recipe!
This recipe has a rich mushroom flavor that is very bold but neutral.
Bagel Seasoning is something I found at Trader Joe's! It is basically big flakes of sea salt, Pepper, sesame seeds, garlic and spices reminiscent of a Deli Style bagel.
If you pre-soak your dried mushrooms over night, you can increase the dried mushrooms and forgo the fresh ones. Dried mushrooms are rather chewy. They should be rinsed, placed in very hot water to cover and allowed to soak. Putting them in the blended cuts down the soaking time.
Sometimes I use fingerling potatoes and slice them into 1/4" slices with the skins on. You can use sliced potatoes instead of diced.
If you want your soup to be creamier and less of a broth, add a whole cooked potato and 1 cup of plant milk to the blender when you blend your mushrooms.
If you choose to use all fresh mushrooms and no dried ones, you can forgo the blender. The broth itself is very hearty.
