hugh fearnley-whittingstall's creamy mushroom soup

After last week's two-day return to work, it all kicks off with a vengeance today: 0800 meeting, cold ride to work and cold paella for lunch. Despite not drinking yesterday, on reflection I don't think putting in a three hour stint until 00.45 watching Any Human Heart (whilst openly weeping) properly prepared me for the return.

By the time I get home, mercifully early for the first time in three months, I'm not only famished, I'm also still dehydrated from all the crying. The good news is soup is pretty much 100% water, so that's the latter point sorted, and even better (although not for her grumbling stomach) Ana's back on the intermittent fasting, so I've got loads for lunch tomorrow.

 

Despite being a far superior accompaniment to the latest Midsomer on catch-up than a corn cake with some peanut butter, it's strangely unsatisfying. I think I might have used slightly too much water because the flavour is oddly lacking; you don't really get much thyme, or garlic OR the variety of fungi - portobello, chestnut, button and some porcini - in it. Odd. But as I say, better than a corn cake.

Wine Time

I don't really hold with wine with soup, mainly because it's liquid and liquid, unless you're being jazzy and serving shots of soup as amuse-style bouches. However I appreciate if you're serving as a starter (and therefore presenting significantly smaller portions), you would want some wine to accompany it.

Assuming you manage to get more flavour into your soup, you need look no further than a great Old World Pinot Noir. Red Burgundy loves mushrooms as it's full of earthy flavours that perfectly compliment fungi, in fact the earthier the better! Or if your feeling a bit more left-field, and you could add a bit to the soup to give it a lavish edge, Madeira would be similarly magic. It's the oldest-lived wine you know?

sources
creamy mushroom soup - hugh fearnley-whittingstall, River Cottage Veg Everyday!, p152