Abt-solutely Delicious: Cream of Mushroom Soup

Winter is such a magical time of year, from the snowfall, the glorious smell of holiday baking to snuggling up in front of a warm fire.  When winter comes to mind, I think of the warmth, comfort and gatherings the season brings. This soup perfectly delivers that comforting ,warm, and homey feeling, which is the exact reason why I only make this soup in the winter.  This recipe is hearty, rich and perfect for the holidays – you’ll definitely feel the love from it. From our family here at Abt to yours, Happy holidays – stay warm!

Ingredients

3 springs of thyme (if they are not branched together, tie with kitchen twine)

1 onion finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic minced

2 cups of finely sliced Cremni mushrooms

2 tablespoons of butter

1/2 cup of heavy cream

Olive oil

1 /2  cup of water

1/4 of milk

1 tablespoon of flour

1 teaspoon of oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1)  In a large pot over the on medium heat, drizzle some olive oil and melt the butter. Once the butter is melted go ahead and throw in your onions until they are soft, and translucent. Once onions are cooked, throw in the thyme, garlic and mushrooms, and let the mushrooms sweat it out for about 2-3 minutes.

2) Dilute the tablespoon of flour in a bowl with water, maybe half a teaspoon, stir and pour it in the pot with the garlic, Thyme, mushrooms and onions.  After that, pour in your milk, and heavy cream. Stir slowly and let the soup thicken a little. Once you have seen the soup thicken a little, add the water. This will help the soup from being too rich.  Add your oregano, salt & pepper to your taste, and continue to stir slowly under  Medium-Low heat.

3)  If the soup is not as thick as you like, continue to dilute flour in water and pour into the soup until you get the thickness you like for the soup. Once you have achieved the consistency you like, turn down the heat to low, and let the soup simmer for about 6-8 minutes.

4)  Once you have let the soup simmer, stir slowly again, remove your sprigs of thyme (its okay if the leaves have fallen off, just as long as you’re not serving stems) and serve soup warm.