Golden Mushroom Soup with Orzo and a Pat of Butter

This is the type of soup that, at first glance, might seem a little . . . unexciting. But what you’re likely underestimating is the power of mushrooms (naturally high in umami, a fever dream of mixed textures, visually dazzling in all their shapes and sizes), which are doing most if not all of the heavy lifting here. Technically this recipe can be done with all button or chestnut (cremini) mushrooms, but I can’t say it will look or taste as good as it does with a mix of the more exotic types, such as oyster, maitake or chanterelle.

The simplicity of this soup means you do have to be vigilant about seasoning (especially if you’re so bravely using water instead of stock), salting, peppering and adjusting with fish sauce as you go. That said, I really enjoy the monk-like restraint of the mushroom-garlic-water magic that occurs (with a fish sauce assist, of course), creating a broth that is delicate and earthy, evoking a very good, robust mushroom tea.

Servings: 4

Author: Alison Roman - featured in "Something From Nothing"

Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil plus more as needed
12 oz mushrooms (a good mix of the more exotic cultivated or wild foraged varieties, if you can, torn or cut into bite-size pieces)
sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
6 cloves garlic thinly sliced
½ tsp ground turmeric
¼ tsp chile flakes or to taste
6 cups water or stock
¾ cup dried orzo pasta
2 tsp fish sauce or soy sauce plus more to taste
2 tsp unsalted butter plus more to serve
sea salt flakes for finishing

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add half of the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they’re starting to brown around the edges, 6–8 minutes. Add more olive oil if the pot is looking a little dry (mushrooms really soak it up), followed by the remaining mushrooms and all the garlic. Season again with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the mushrooms are nicely browned and have started to leave a little fond (the brown, sticky parts where a lot of the flavour is) on the bottom of the pot, another 6–8 minutes.
Add the turmeric and chile flakes and stir to bloom the spices in the fat for a minute or two. Add the water or stock and bring to a simmer. Add the orzo and fish sauce and season again with salt and pepper.
Simmer until the broth is deeply flavourful and the orzo has cooked through, 15–20 minutes. The end soup should be brothy enough that you can see bits of orzo and mushrooms floating close to the surface – my simmer might not be your simmer, so keep simmering if it’s feeling a little thin.
Once the broth is where you want it and the orzo is good and plumped, add the butter to the pot and season again with salt, pepper and more fish sauce. Divide among bowls and top with more chile flakes, some flaky salt and . . . more butter. Because it looks nice and tastes so good.

Notes

Cook's Note:

Oyster, maitake, chanterelle or king trumpet mushrooms would all be wonderful here.

Do Ahead:

This soup can be made a few days ahead and refrigerated, if you want. The orzo will continue to absorb the flavours of the broth and the mushrooms, so one might argue this gets better with age. Thin with water as needed.

Eat With:

In keeping with the monastic theme, I like to eat this soup alone (often for lunch), but for dinner (maybe even with others), I think a giant piece of toasted bread or baguette to dunk into the broth would be nice.