Creamy Mushroom Soup

I'm a huge fan of mushrooms and mushroom soup, so on Boxing Day I tried making my own creamy mushroom soup! This recipe was adapted from one I got from an English college friend 6 years ago.

Ingredients:

1. 10 oz mushrooms, chopped (I used 5 lb portabello mushrooms, and 5lb white button mushrooms this time)
2. Half an onion, chopped
3. 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
4. 1 cup milk (I only have 2% milk at home, so I used that. Some recipes ask for whole milk or half-and-half)
5. 2 cups chicken stock (I used packaged soup in a box from Whole Foods)
6. 1/8 to 1/4 cup flour
7. 1 cup heavy cream
8. Salt, pepper, thyme
9. Olive oil

Instructions:

1. Heat up the olive oil in the pot. 
2. Stir-fry the onion and garlic until the onion is half cooked.
3. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry until the mushrooms are cooked.
4. Add enough flour to soak up the mushroom juices.
5. Pour in the milk and chicken stock. 
6. Heat up everything till simmering, but do not overboil.
7. Add the heavy cream, stir until simmering.
8. Add spices to taste.

Afterthoughts:

We liked it!

However, as much as I like eating portabello mushrooms, I think their taste is a bit too strong in cream soup. Next time I'll use white button and brown crimini mushrooms instead. Also, for a stronger garlicky flavor, add more garlic. 

The consistency of this soup was less thick than what you get from condensed canned soup. If you want a thicker soup I suppose you can have a higher heavy cream: milk ratio, use whole milk or add more flour. 

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!