Growing up, it was common knowledge that my mom loved mushrooms and that my dad referred to them as “fungus.” I was firmly in my dad’s camp until I was a teenager and my tastes suddenly changed. Now, I love mushrooms of all kinds like nobody’s business, whether they’re on pizza, on top of burgers or the star of a deliciously creamy soup.

This is definitely not your grandmother’s cream of mushroom soup recipe. My version is super rich and hearty—it contains four different types of mushrooms and incorporates a block of light cream cheese to make it super delectable. I made things interesting by adding cans of white beans + hominy (I truly love hominy) as well as a sautéed onion, jalapeño and poblano pepper. The pièce de résistance here is a baked mozzarella cheese crisp. Trust me…it’s all just crazy enough to work.

INGREDIENTS

16 oz. assorted mushrooms (we used white mushrooms, shitake & oyster)
4 large portobello mushrooms
2 T. butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, chopped
1 poblano pepper, chopped
1 - 15 oz. can Great Northern beans, drained
1 - 15 oz. can hominy, drained
4 c. vegetable broth
8 oz. low-fat cream cheese
2 T. Grey Poupon mustard
1 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. dried sage
1 t. dried rosemary
Salt & pepper to taste
Splash of dry white wine
Handful of shredded mozzarella cheese

STEPS

1) Place a Dutch oven on a burner over medium heat. Add the butter and, once melted, add the jalapeño, poblano and onion. Sauté until the onion is translucent.

2) Add the chopped mushrooms to the pot and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have released their liquid and cooked down.

3) Add the garlic and Dijon mustard. Pour in a splash of the white wine and stir thoroughly, scraping off the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

4) Add the remaining ingredients. Be sure to whisk the cream cheese into the mixture well so that it doesn’t curdle.

5) Allow the mixture to come to a boil. Once it does, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft but not mushy.

6) While the soup is simmering, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper and spray the paper with cooking spray. Add a handful of mozzarella cheese to the paper. Allow the cheese crisp to cook in the oven for about four & a half minutes, then remove, flip with a spatula and cook for another four-ish minutes (you basically just want to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn). Once the cheese crisp is cooked to your satisfaction, allow it to cool a bit before picking it up; wiggle it in the air a bit (yes, seriously) so that it starts to crisp up.

7) When the soup is done simmering, separate about 1/3 of it into a separate bowl and use an immersion blender to purée until smooth. Add the puréed soup back to the rest of the soup and stir will to combine. Serve immediately, seasoning well with freshly cracked black pepper and topping with half of the cheese crisp.