London, at this time of year, gets pretty cold and wet, with a general dampness that chills you to the bone. To counter this, I've come up with a recipe for a thick mushroom soup laced with garlic and parsley. One of the things that I like about this version is that the soup is thickened with bread- and the result is spectacular.
Melt some unsalted butter in a pan, and add some chopped up mushrooms. I like to use brown field mushrooms, which I've chopped up roughly, stalks and all. Stew them gently for about five minutes. Next, add some chopped garlic. Cook it for a bit.
Get hold of some bread, which you've previously soaked in milk. Squeeze out the surplus milk, and add the bread, in small pieces, to the mushrooms and the garlic. Now you can add some chicken stock, and a pinch of nutmeg.
Bring to the boil, and then simmer for about fifteen minutes. When it has cooked through, put the soup into a Magimix or blender, and give it a whizz. Put the soup back into the pan, add some double cream, and masses of chopped parsley. All you have to do now, is heat it up again and eat it.
