Recipe: Creamy Mushroom Soup, Creamy Mushroom Soup, Bechamel Sauce

Creamy Mushroom Soup

2 cups chopped onions (2 medium ones)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup uncooked pearl barley
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 pounds white mushrooms, wiped clean, stems trimmed (wipe them with a damp towel, don't wash them under water, they will retain too much liquid and lose water)
8 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup sherry
1/2 cup chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions and garlic in a large heavy pot in water or sherry. Add barley and nutmeg and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Add chopped mushrooms, broth and sherry. Bring to a boil, reduce head and simmer for 40 minutes. Add parsely and cool soup slightly. Puree soup in batches in a food processor or blender until very smooth. Return to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Reheat and serve garnished with more sliced mushrooms.

Creamy Mushroom Soup
Chef: Mark Hackett
Mark Hackett from a local Grafton Cafe prepared this soup for the Grafton Regional Gallery's "Inaugural Soup", held on the 23rd July, 2000. It is adapted from a Northern Italian recipe.
Serves 10-12

1.5kg Mushrooms
2Lt White Sauce (B chamel)
4 Cups Stock
2 bunches Continental Parsley chopped
3-4 Cloves Garlic
Nutmeg grated (or 1 level tsp ground)
180g Butter
100ml Marsala
Salt
Pepper

Prepare a White Sauce. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Let it cook for at least 15 mins. Chop Mushrooms roughly and cook gently in butter for 10 mins. Add garlic, parsley, salt and pepper and the Marsala. After a few minutes pour in the white sauce and then the stock.
Let it heat thoroughly, thin with milk or stock if too thick. Serve with cracked pepper to taste.

Bechamel Sauce
Recipe Courtesy of Diana Shaw

2 cups milk
1 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (optional if you are using it for the Mushroom Soup)

Scald the milk in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Keep it warm over very low heat. Melt the butter in a separate saucepan over low heat. When it's bubbling, add the flour and whisk until it forms a golden paste, about 3 to 4 minutes. Whisking constantly, add the hot milk in a steady stream. Bring the milk to a gentle simmer and continue to whisk until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Whisk in the nutmeg and the cheese, and serve at once.