MUSHROOM SOUP with a Bite
I have always liked drinking my soup plus eating almost everything delicious that is boiled in it and I usually eat the softened meat with my homemade dips and even some parts of the meat bones that are chewable are not spared. We had adopted a pet dog and housed it in our backyard and Brownie would often put its nose in between the door grill whenever I cooked and especially when I boiled soup. The smell of meat being boiled for a few hours must have gotten it excited in the hopes of a hearty meal of meat but unfortunately dashed because the owner had failed to deliver! Poor Brownie! With a meat lover owner as a competitor, it only got to eat a little of leftover meat which was practically gulped down in a mouthful and probably its forlorn whines and untouched dog biscuits must have been signs of disappointment. I had thought that dog biscuits would have been enough pampering! Well, from then on whenever I boiled soup, I additionally bought and cooked chicken gizzards, livers and organs and served it to our friend. Paws licking good and I was back in Brownie's favour again!
Just dipping my bread into a bowl of smooth mushroom soup is not satisfying enough so I decided to add some bite of mushroom, meat and celery to it. Instead of using all purpose flour, I am using mix whole grain rice which I ground in an electric spice miller/grinder and I usually grind a big batch and store in airtight containers or bags in the freezer ready for use. This soup is good for one of those days when you just want something light and yet filling and nutritious. Extras can be frozen and microwaved to reheat. Here's the recipe:
Mushroom Soup with a Bite
Ingredients
200g chicken fillet
250g white mutton mushroom
1 stalk celery
6 pips garlic
60g onion (1 medium)
1/4 tsp ground black peppercorns or less
6 tbsp ground mix whole grain or brown rice
4 cups water
2 tbsp light olive oil
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt or less
Flat leaf parsley (opt)
Preparation
- Cube chicken and celery into 1 cm size.
- Marinate meat with ground pepper and a big pinch of salt.
- Slice mushrooms thickly.
- Mince garlic and onion.
- Chop parsley leaves for garnish
How to cook
- Saute minced garlic and onion in heated light olive oil until lightly browned.
- Add mushrooms and saute until water from mushrooms evaporates.
- Stir in celery for another 1/2 minute and turn off heat. Scoop into a plate and leave to cool.
- Finely blend half of cooled mushroom mixture with some water in a blender or food processor.
- Bring the rest of the water to boil, add ground rice and blended mushroom mixture. Simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes with the lid loosely covered.
- Uncover, add meat, remaining half of mushroom mixture and bring to boil over high heat.
- When meat is cooked (do not overcook), stir in milk and salt to taste. Turn off heat as soon as soup is just boiling.
- Stir in extra virgin olive oil and serve in soup bowls with chopped parsley.
Dip your soup spoon in, scoop up goodness and enjoy ...
~Kim~
