No Cream of Mushroom Soup

• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 4 oz. crimini mushrooms
• 4 oz. white button mushrooms
• 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 0.25 tsp. fine sea salt
• 0.25 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 sliced mushroom, sautéed for garnish
• Chopped parsley for garnish

You can chop the mushrooms by hand, in which case you want to get them as small as you can be bothered to, or you can give them a whirl in a food processor, in which case you want to be careful not to overdo it or you'll have a paste with no texture.

Melt 2 Tbsp. of the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and shallot, cook for 1 minute until they begin to soften. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 3 minutes, until tender and browned. Transfer all the contents of the pot to a bowl.

Add the remaining 1 Tbsp. of butter to the pot. Once melted, sprinkle in the flour and whisk it quickly into a paste. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the stock a little at a time, whisking out the clumps between each addition.

Increase the heat back to medium-high and allow the soup to simmer well for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms back to the pot and continue to cook for 2 more minutes. The stock will thicken slightly to be somewhat creamy.

Let this cook for 3–4 minutes, then ladle it into bowls and top with your garnish.