FFwD: Paris Mushroom Soup

I'm flying loose with the schedule this month. Hope nobody minds too terribly. The scheduled meal from Around My French Table is Spiced Squash, Fennel, and Pear Soup. I made and wrote about this soup last spring. Originally, I was a bit disappointed with the flavor, but mostly liked it. As time passed, and I ate bowl after endless bowl of frozen leftovers, the orange and ginger flavors intensified until they were overbearing. This recipe made a whole lot of soup, and those last few bowls were pretty unpleasant. The thought of making it again churned my stomach.

Instead, I decided to catch up on one of the recipes I missed. In keeping with the soup theme, I made Paris Mushroom Soup (pg 72). This is one of those recipes that I would skip right over if not for French Fridays with Dorie. When I was younger, I hated mushrooms. I no longer hate them, but I don't go out of my way to eat them, either. Matt despises them, so I'm never tempted to cook anything that features them too predominantly.

What a fool I am. This is one delicious soup. It helps that it's pureed. I like vegetable soups so much better when they're smooth. The flavors meld better that way, I think. Mushroom is definitely the star flavor, but it's so nicely balanced by rosemary, garlic, wine, onions, and a bit of thyme (I didn't have parsley, so I subbed in thyme), that I loved it. It reminded me of Thanksgiving stuffing, but I'm not sure why. I used to yell at my mom whenever she attempted to add mushrooms to our stuffing (aren't I a gem?), so half the time she made two separate batches, one with, one without. I never ate the batch with the mushrooms, so I don't know why I connect the flavor of this soup so strongly to her stuffing. Unless she's been tricking me and adding teeny diced mushrooms all these years, just to mess with me. Not cool, Mom. Not cool.

I couldn't be happier with this soup. I love tasty surprises. Now, as long as my frozen servings don't intensify until the thought of eating one more bowl makes my stomach lurch, I'll happily make this recipe over and over again.

Conclusion: Love it. Hooray! Just one more example of how preconceived notions can be so very, very wrong.