Creamy mushroom soup

Creamy mushroom soup

Ingredients:

 500g mushrooms
90g butter
... 2 medium onions chopped
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 liter chicken stock
1 sprig of thyme
1 bay leaf
½ cup cream
salt and pepper

Method:

 Wipe the mushrooms clean and chop them into rough dice. Chop the onions and crush the garlic. Put the chicken stock to heat in a separate pan.

In a large pan cook the onions, thyme and garlic in the butter over a medium heat, until they are soft and translucent but not browned.

Add the mushrooms, raise the heat and cook, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes.

Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and stir it in so that it coats the mushrooms, then and cook, stirring constantly, for another minute.

Pour the hot chicken stock over the mushrooms and bring back to the boil. Add the bay leaf and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf and thyme and use either a hand held blender or a food processor to process the soup until smooth.

Return the soup to the pan, season with salt and pepper to taste and reheat. When it is simmering stir in the cream. Allow to warm through. Serve with garlic croutons or fresh bread.