Happy almost Fall, everyone!  Since the best season is approaching, with its foliage and cooler temperatures, I figured I’d get a head start on soup season. 

I will be honest, this recipe was BAD the first time I did it.  I used a completely wrong ingredient and had certain ratios all out of whack. I also used way too much oil as you will see in the finished product picture. The reason I say this is with most of my recipes, what you’re getting is the first time I’ve ever made them, with some exceptions. This one took three tries to get it right, and it turned out great! Also, the pictures are from the first attempt, hence why there’s no rice. Enough of my ranting, here’s the ingredients:

  • 1.5 lbs mushrooms, diced. 
  • 1 cup beer (Hefeweizen or a light lager)
  • 3 cups beef stock
  • 1 Tbsp dried thyme
  • 3-4 bay leaves
  • 2 ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp grape seed oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1-2 tsp flour (optional)
  • 1 cup Pre-cooked rice
  • Cheesecloth

You see that blue can right there? That is a very delicious beer.  It was also the VERY wrong beer to use in this recipe. I would suggest using a Hefeweizen or a nice light lager (Donde Esta La Bibliotequa, for example) from the good folks at Ragged Island. Do not use the Extra Special Bitter, because it becomes a very extra special bitter and ruins the whole soup. 

As for the type of mushrooms, it doesn’t matter.  Use what you like best. I used what was available at my favorite German grocery store. I will say that this might have been better with some porcini mushrooms, which I absolutely love.  That’s just my personal preference, though. For this recipe, I used cremini aka baby bellas, portabella mushrooms, and white button mushrooms.  Clean them thoroughly and then chop them up. Make sure to dice them all up so they are generally the same size and shape.

I took a minimalistic approach when it came to flavoring this soup.  I also used dried herbs instead of fresh simply because it’s all I had on hand and sadly said German grocery store doesn’t carry fresh herbs. With that being said, take some cheesecloth, layer a few sheets, and add the bay leaves and dried thyme.  Take the ends, twist them so the herbs are in a nice, tight ball, and tie off the ends.  This is your flavor bomb. 

Now it’s time to cook. Put a Dutch oven or soup pot on medium-high heat.  One thing to know about mushrooms is it’s nigh impossible to overcook them.  They also hold a heck of a lot of moisture.  What we are going to do here is cook out all of that moisture and really concentrate the flavor of the mushroom. Be patient because this can take some time.  Once the pot is hot, add the oil and then the mushrooms.  Cook the mushrooms, stirring occasionally.  You will see a lot of moisture come out.  Keep cooking until most of the liquid has cooked off.  Till will take about 10-15 minutes with occasional stirring. You will see the difference in the pictures below.

If you want to make this more of a stew than a soup, add some flour once that liquid has gone away and cook for a few minutes. Personally, I left it out, but this would be good as a stew.  Now add the paprika and make sure all the mushrooms are well coated in it. I probably added more than the recipe calls for just because I love paprika and I also don’t measure anything when I cook.  That’s probably why my soup was fire engine red.  Anyway, once that’s done, it’s time to add the liquids. Add the beer first and cook down for 2-3 minutes.  This will concentrate the beer favor.  Now, you can imagine why using an Extra Special Bitter was such a poor choice.  Also, I used a 2:2 ratio of beer to stock  the first time around and that was absolutely disastrous. 1:3 beer to stock, that’s the correct ratio. Once the beer is done cooking, add your beef stock and the herb ball. 

Let this come up to a boil, then drop the heat to low and let simmer for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how much of a rush you’re in to eat delicious soup. Once it’s done, add the pre-cooked rice and cook for 5 more minutes on low heat just to heat it through. Kill the heat, serve it up, and enjoy!  I’ll see you in October!

I told you, too much oil the first time!

Jay Flanders is a native of Newport and avid cook. While he studied at the University of Rhode Island, he also attended the College of Food Network via his television set where he learned the basics of cooking. Also being an all-too-avid eater at restaurants, he really began to learn what ingredients went together, cooking techniques and other tips and tricks in the kitchen. He used that knowledge to teach himself how to cook and how to start making his own recipes. Now, he’s here to give you...