Creamy Mushroom & Cauliflower Soup

  When the temperature drops, you feel it in your bones.  This soup meets brings the kind of warm comfort that lingers.  A trio of mushrooms, a browned onion, and a whole cauliflower cook down into something velvety and deeply savory, built on structure rather than excess.  The thyme anchors it, the cayenne sharpens it, and the cream brings everything into focus without weighing it down. 

  Finish with warm sourdough and a drizzle of olive oil, and you get a quiet, reliable meal for a cold winter day.

INGREDIENTS 

• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 (8 oz) yellow onion, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 16 oz baby bella mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 8 oz shitake mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 8 oz portobella mushroom caps, cleaned and roughly chopped
• 1 (8 0z) cauliflower head, cut into florets
• 4 oz fresh thyme
• 2 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 16 oz vegetable stock
• ½ cup heavy cream
• Sourdough bread
• Salt and Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

     1).  In a large pot, heat the butter and olive oil until butter is bubbling.

     2).  Sauté onions for 5-10 min on medium-high heat, until they begin to brown.

     3).  Stir in garlic until fragrant (2 min).

     4).  Add all mushrooms and sauté for 7-10 min, until the mushrooms have released their liquid.

     5).  Season with salt, pepper, dried thyme, and cayenne pepper; stir.

     6).  Add cauliflower, bay leaves, vegetable stock, Worcestershire and soy sauce.

     7).  Bright the pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer; cover the pot and cook for 30 minutes.

     8).  Taste to adjust any seasonings.

     9).  Remove the pot from the heat source, pour in cream, and season with salt and pepper.  Let cool slightly, then use an immersion blender until smooth and creamy.

     9).  Serve with warm sourdough bread, a drizzle of olive oil and fresh thyme.

SERVES 6-7