mrandmrsr: Creamy Roasted Garlic Mushroom Soup... no dairy

I love soup. I could eat it every day, every meal, and every time of the year. Yes, I live in Florida, but I could still eat soup every day in the summer. I usually make my usual tomato soup, chicken noodle, or chili, but I have decided to be adventurous. I made creamy roasted garlic mushroom soup. No dairy. I did not want to add a lot of fat, so I skipped the dairy, and I didn't even miss it! This soup was SO easy to make and the longest part was roasting the garlic. I have already had it three times this week and each time I eat it, it gets better. I think it is a winner!

Ingredients:
8 oz. portabello mushrooms
1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms
1 onion, chopped
1 head of garlic, roasted (directions below)
1 teaspoon thyme
4 cups of chicken broth

Directions:

The first thing that you want to do is roast the garlic. This takes about an hour. Here's how I did it:

How to roast garlic:

1. Cut off the top of the garlic. (About 1 centimeter down from the top)

2. Put the garlic in tin foil.

3. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and a little salt and pepper.

4. Cook in a 350 degree F oven for about an hour.

5. Make sure the tin foil is completely covering the garlic.

This is how the garlic should look in the oven. Close it tightly!

Ok... now for the soup...

1. Chop the onion and put it into a pot. Pour in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

2. In order to get the onions to brown and caramelize, add a teaspoon of sugar. It does wonders.

3. Put the dried porcini mushrooms in a small bowl. If you do not have access or do not want to buy dried porcini mushrooms, you do not need it. You could add a few more portabello mushrooms instead.

4. If you do decide to use the dried porcini mushrooms, add 1/2 cup of hot water to them. They will come 'back to life' and will create a great broth to add to the soup.

5. Add the portabello mushrooms to the onion mixture. Stir frequently until the mushrooms are soft and cooked through.

6. When the garlic is finished, add it to the onion and mushroom mixture. Add a little more salt and pepper to season all of the steps.

7. Add the chicken broth and thyme. Let the mixture some to a boil.

8. When the soup is cooled, (I am guilty of blending hot mixtures, but it is not recommended) blend the mixture. I used my immersion blender, but you could also ladle the soup into a regular blender and blend until smooth.