Ingredients
- 6 small fennel bulbs, stalks removed, halved lengthwise
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 bunch fresh thyme sprigs, leaves stripped from the stem
- 1 pound white button mushrooms, wiped of grit and coarsely chopped
- 1 pound oyster mushrooms, wiped of grit and coarsely chopped
- 1 pound chanterelle mushrooms, wiped of grit and coarsely chopped
- 1 pound cooked chestnuts
- 3 quarts chicken stock
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Fresh chopped chives, for garnish
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Put the fennel halves, cut-side up, in a baking dish and drizzle with enough olive oil to come up half-way; season with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes or until completely tender - the roasted fennel is the base of the soup, so it's important the flesh is soft enough to be cut with a spoon. Reserve until ready to serve.
In a large pot, melt the butter over medium flame, add the onion and garlic, and saute for 4 minutes until translucent. Toss the thyme into the pan, along with the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the mushrooms give off their liquid. Add the chestnuts and cook for a few more minutes until they have some nice color on them. Remove about 1 cup of the mixture to save as a garnish for the soup.
Pour the stock into the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring now and then. Remove from the heat and puree the soup until completely smooth, using a handheld or regular blender. Stir in the cream to make the soup even richer, and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper.
To serve: Ladle the soup into soup bowls; garnish each serving with a bit of the reserved mushrooms and chestnuts, a roasted fennel half, and a sprinkle of chopped chives.
















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By Seattlejake
Seattle, WA
on November 15, 2011
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Great rather quick dish. I used one qt of beef broth and two qt of chicken broth which gave the soup some richness.
By mjmck65_10736169
ottumwa, IA
on June 02, 2009
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However, as usual, the editor has failed to do his job. Although the recipe states that the fennel is the base of the soup, it fails to mention adding it to the soup, except as a garnish, just before serving. If you punch in "wild mushroom soup" instead of just "mushroom soup", you will get a video which shows him making the soup. He roasts the fennel halves, and then cuts them into smaller pieces and adds them to the soup, before simmering. Apparently the editor missed this completely. Not at all uncommon for Food Network.
By kkhorner@hotmai...
Meadville, PA
on April 14, 2009
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I made this for something different on my menu, what a hit! Everyone loved it! Not real pretty to look at but the taste is great!
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