Creamy Mushroom Soup with Chicken
- ACTIVE:
- TOTAL TIME: 35 MIN
- SERVINGS: 4
- •FAST
- •MAKE-AHEAD
- 3/4 pound cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 quart chicken stock or canned low-sodium broth
- 1 ounce dried shiitake or porcini mushrooms
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 3 tablespoons tawny port or dry sherry
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil with the dried mushrooms. Cover the saucepan and remove from the heat.
- Melt the butter in another medium saucepan. Add the onion and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the sliced cremini and cook until tender and their liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season the cremini with salt and white pepper and stir in the flour. Strain the stock into the saucepan, pressing hard on the solids with the back of a spoon. Stir the soy sauce into the mushroom soup, cover partially, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer half of the mushroom soup to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Return the puree to the saucepan. Add the chicken pieces and simmer the soup until the chicken is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the half-and-half and port and simmer the soup for 1 minute longer. Stir in the parsley, ladle the soup into bowls and serve right away.