Forget cliché flowers and chocolates for date night, and curate this incredible chanterelle soup recipe, instead!

I tasted chanterelles for the first time this season. We were driving down a long dirt road, pretty early in the chanterelle season, when we saw a stunning flash of yellow running down a small hillside. We collected the wild mushrooms in the only “container” we had and tossed them in the cast iron pretty soon after we arrived home.

Left photo: freshly foraged chanterelle mushrooms in a straw hat. Right photo: Roughly chopped chanterelles sauteeing in a cast iron skillet.

Chanterelles harvested in WV (Photo credit: Christine Danforth, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay).

If you’re looking to elevate your latest chanterelle harvest, follow the recipe below for an unbelievably tasty umami soup on a summer’s evening.

The Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
  • 1 lb. chanterelle mushrooms
  • 1 1/2 tsp dill weed
  • 1 Tbsp paprika
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne
  • 1 tsp caraway seeds
  • 4 garlic cloves, coarsely minced
  • 3 Tbsp tamari
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • 2 Tbsp margarine
  • 3 Tbsp flour
  • 1 cup soymilk/soy creamer
  • 2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 2-3 Tbsp red wine
  • Fresh cracked pepper

The Process:

  1. In a soup pot, saute your rustically chopped onion in olive oil until soft. This may take about 5 minutes.
  2. Add in your torn or sliced mushrooms, as well as the dill, paprika, caraway, paprika, and cayenne then saute for 5 minutes.
  3. Add in 2 of the 3 Tbsp of the tamari and all of the stock, then cover and simmer for around 15 minutes.
  4. While your soup simmers, melt the margarine in a separate saucepan and add the flour. Cook this roux for about one minute, stirring constantly, then whisk in the soymilk/ soy creamer until the roux is smooth. Once smooth, simmer the roux over low heat until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.
  5. Once the roux has thickened, whisk in the last Tbsp of tamari; then transfer the roux to the mushroom base mixture and stir. Add in your garlic, and cover and simmer for another 15 minutes.
  6. Just before serving stir in the lemon juice and red wine, finish off with cracked pepper. We enjoyed pairing this soup, simply, with a slice of sourdough bread!

As you read through this amazing recipe you may have noticed that it is vegan, if you’re in the mood for something a little more hearty substitute in chicken or beef stock, butter and heavy cream. This recipe is incredibly easy to make gluten free, as well!

As you transform your kitchen with the peppery, umami aroma of wild chanterelles stop and really appreciate what this beautiful season has to offer!

Recipe courtesy: D.Manning and http://www.urbanhonking.com/hotknives/tag/friendz-of-hot-knives/index.html