MEDICINAL MUSHROOM SOUP

There are lots of wild mushrooms growing in the woods where I walk with Kia, (my whippet). I don't know a thing about picking wild mushrooms, and my motto tends to be " If in doubt, leave it out", so sadly this recipe isn't made with mushrooms I've picked myself, but those wild mushrooms inspired me to get in the kitchen & rustle up some soup.

I've used shiitake mushrooms in this recipe, which unfortunately I'm unlikely to find in the woods behind my house! They are choc full of good things. A good source of Iron & B vits for vegetarians. Widely known for having immune boosting properties, recent studies have also shown them to be beneficial to the cardiovascular system amongst other things. With all the bugs that seem to surface around autumn/winter, this recipe is a must.
Most mushroom soup tends to be " cream of" but I wanted to come up with a dairy free version. - so here it is.

75 g button mushrooms
75g shiitake mushrooms
50g potato
2 cloves of garlic peeled
300ml stock
2 dessert spoons tamari soy sauce
1 tablespoon light olive oil

The stock you use will have a big effect on the end result. I used mushroom stock. This consisted of dried shiitake mushrooms, celery, potato, a carrot,  bay leaf, few cloves. If you eat meat then chicken stock gives the most flavour in soup . 

1  Put the shiitake mushrooms & chopped up potato in a saucepan with the stock. Bring to the boil and then cover the pan with a lid & reduce the heat to a simmer whilst you cook the rest of the mushrooms.
2  Slice the button mushrooms. Peel & slice the 2 cloves of garlic and cook over a medium heat in a frying pan with 1 tablespoon light olive oil or other cooking oil and 1 tablespoon water. When they are soft and starting to brown, (this should just take a few minutes) remove from the heat and add to the saucepan with the other mushrooms.
3  Add the Tamari soy sauce. Cover the pan with a lid and leave to simmer on a low heat for about 5 minutes. Then set to one side to cool a bit. Blitz in the blender. Season with black pepper.
Enjoy!