Blended mushroom and white bean soup

Ingredients

0 of 13 out on the counter

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1½ lb cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced; keep 1 cup of the slices aside for the top
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1½ tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1 can (15 oz) no-salt-added cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (about 1½ cups)
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• ¾ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp olive oil, for browning the mushrooms kept aside
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley

All set! Everything is out. Time to bake.

Method

1. 1Set 1 cup of the sliced mushrooms aside for the top. Heat the 1 tbsp oil in a big pot over medium-high heat. Add the rest of the mushrooms in two handfuls, stirring as each shrinks. Cook 12 to 15 minutes, until the liquid they give off has cooked away and the edges are browned.
2. 2Add the onion, garlic powder and thyme. Turn the heat to medium and cook 5 minutes, until the onion is soft.
3. 3Add the beans, broth, water and pepper. Heat until it boils hard, then turn it down to a steady simmer and put the lid on. At 5,430 ft water boils near 203 °F, so give it 20 minutes instead of the usual 15 (our kitchen practice: we extend CSU Extension's high-altitude simmer rule to this soup). The mushrooms should be very soft.
4. 4Take the pot off the heat. Blend with an immersion blender for 2 to 3 minutes, until completely smooth and thick enough to coat a spoon. With a standing blender, fill it no more than halfway, hold the lid on with a towel and blend in batches.
5. 5Stir in the salt and lemon juice. Taste: if it is flat, add the lemon juice a little at a time before any more salt.
6. 6Heat the 1 tsp oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the 1 cup of kept-aside mushrooms 4 to 5 minutes, without stirring much, until browned.
7. 7Ladle the soup into six bowls. Top each with some of the browned mushrooms and the parsley.
8. 8Cool leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours (1 hour above 90 °F), then refrigerate. Reheat to a boil, stirring, or to 165 °F. Keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge (our kitchen practice; we hold no published source for it yet). Freezes in 2-cup tubs for 3 months (our kitchen practice; we hold no published source for it yet); thaw overnight in the fridge.