Recipe: Mushroom and Leek Soup

This is one of the nicest soups I have made in ages- really flavorful, thick and smooth. We had some mushrooms to use in the fridge and I just chucked various other vegetables we had in the cupboards. I tend to use a mixture of chestnut and closed cup mushrooms for this recipe- although most mushrooms will work I reckon. This recipe is also fantastic used as a sauce for steak or chicken, or even used as a base for a chicken and mushroom pie!

Mushroom and Leek Soup (makes 2 large bowls)

40g butter
1 large white onion, diced
1 leek, diced
1 celery stick, diced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
210g mixed mushrooms
1 tsp thyme
½ tsp celery salt
1 potato, peeled and diced
250ml chicken stock
250ml semi-skimmed milk (plus maybe a little extra later)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Sautee the onion, leek, celery and garlic in butter in a large pan, covered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes.
2. Add all the other ingredients, and cook on a high heat, covered, for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, blend, and season to taste.
3. Check consistency, and add a little milk if the soup needs to be a bit thinner. Return to the pan and heat until piping hot and serve!