Many things come to mind when I think of comfort food... donuts, Doritos, steak and potatoes... but that's not exactly what I had in mind for today. I've had a certain soup recipe sitting in my recipe box for a few years now and I finally pulled it out and bought the ingredients to make it. It's from an only issue of Better Homes & Gardens and it was a $200 contest winning recipe... I figured it must be good. What better time than the cold winter months to whip up a batch of homemade soup that will feed your family for days...
It called for a few ingredients that I've never cooked with before... shallots, oil packed dried tomatoes, and shiitake mushrooms.
I suppose you could say that it wasn't the cheapest pot of soup, but boy it sure was easy, delicious, and well worth the money.
Mushroom-Artichoke Soup
1 lb. fresh brown mushrooms, sliced
1 lb. fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
1 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 large carrots, sliced
¼ cup butter
3 T. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. dried thyme, crushed
½ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)
2 14-oz. cans chicken broth
2 14-oz. cans artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
¼ cup oil-packed dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 bay leaf
1 cup half-and-half or light cream
green onions, cut in thin strips (optional)
In a Dutch oven or big soup pot cook mushrooms, shallots, and carrots in hot butter about 15 minutes or until mushrooms are tender; stir occasionally. Stir in flour, thyme, garlic powder, ½ tsp. each salt and black pepper and, if desired, crushed red pepper. Add broth all at once. Cook and stir until soup is slightly thickened and bubbly.
Stir in artichokes, tomatoes, and bay leaf. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Stir in half-and-half; heat through. Discard bay leaf. Top with green onions.
Makes 10 servings
