Mushroom soup

Mushroom soup is the perfect winter recipe and its quick and easy to make. This recipe should feed four and takes around 20 minutes to make.

Ingredients:

500g / 1lb 1oz mushrooms (Try and get a mixture of button, Shiitake and finely sliced, dampened porcini to enhance the flavour)

90g / 3oz butter

2 medium onions, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons plain flour

1 litre / 1.8 pints hot chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarians)

1 bay leaf

½ cup / 4 tablespoons single cream

Salt, paprika and freshly ground black pepper to taste PREPARATION: Finely peel the garlic and chop it along with the onion. And clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth, take the stalks off and slice chop into quarters.  INSTRUCTIONS:Heat up the butter in a pan and cook the garlic and onions until they're soft, yet avoid browning them Then add the mushrooms, heat over a high heat for up to 3 minutes, stirring continuously. Add the flour to the mixture, and mix well, until all mushrooms are covered. Then add the bay leaf and hot chicken stock. Allow this to simmer for a while (up to 11 minutes) then remove the bay leaf and leave the soup to cool for a while. Blend the mixture with a hand blended after a few minutes, until it is smooth (avoid lumps) Then begin to heat the soup again, adding the pepper and salt and paprika (possibly even crushed chillies-if you prefer spicier food) Lastly, stir in the cream gently. Leave to cool for a while, before serving. (If at any point you feel that the soup is too thick, feel free to add in more stock until you gain the right consistency)