Mighty Mushroom Soup

This thick, hearty mushroom soup with brown rice can be a main meal – especially when served with some crusty granary bread on the side.

Mushrooms are low in fat, count towards your 5-a-day and are a source of potassium and some B vitamins. With all that goodness and no cream, this is a really healthy mushroom soup.

Ingredients

1 medium onion
1 carrot
2 sticks celery
600g mushrooms (use a mixture of chestnut, baby and Portobello mushrooms if possible)
1.25 litres boiling water
1 reduced-salt vegetable stock cube
2 x 15ml spoons olive oil
2 x 15ml spoons plain flour
2 x 5ml spoons dried thyme
100g brown rice
3–4 bay leaves
Small bunch (10g) parsley (optional)
Black pepper (optional)
50ml balsamic vinegar (optional)

Equipment

Weighing scales
Chopping board
Sharp knife
Kitchen roll
Kettle
Measuring jug
Wooden spoon
Measuring spoons
Large saucepan with lid
Scissors (optional)
Pan stand

Instructions

1. Peel and finely chop the onion and carrot.
2. Wash the celery and wipe the mushrooms with some damp kitchen roll to remove any grit or bits then chop them into 1cm chunks.
3. Measure 1.25 litres of boiling water into the measuring jug. Crumble in the stock cube and stir to dissolve.
4. Heat the oil in the saucepan on a medium heat, add the onion, celery and carrots and cook for 3 minutes.
5. Turn up the heat, add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, stirring.
6. Lower the heat, stir through the flour and the thyme and cook for 3–4 minutes.
7. Add the stock, brown rice and bay leaves. Turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Chop the parsley (if using) – you’ll need about 2 x 15ml spoons. An easy way for children to do this is to cut it up inside a cup using scissors.
9. Before serving, fish out the bay leaves, add the black pepper and balsamic vinegar (if using) and stir through. Garnish with chopped parsley (if using).

Skills used include:
Washing, weighing, measuring, peeling, chopping and boiling/simmering.

Top Tips

• Make sure you thoroughly stir the flour and thyme through the vegetables so they don’t stick to the pan and burn.

Something to try next time

• For a creamier version you could stir in 1 or 2 x 15ml spoons of reduced-fat crème fraîche just before serving.
• You could easily add any leftover vegetables – cook them with the celery and carrots.
• This recipe is great with garlic, add a finely chopped clove with the onion.
• If you’re making this soup for someone who is gluten intolerant, leave out the flour and thicken the soup at the end by mixing 2 x 15ml spoons of cornflour with a little water and stirring the paste into the soup. Simmer, stirring, until slightly thickened. Alternatively, leave out the flour altogether or use gluten-free flour. (Also check the stock cube does not contain gluten.)

Prepare now, eat later

• Most soups freeze well for up to 1 month. Cool quickly before pouring into a large freezer bag set inside a plastic container. Or freeze individual portions. Once frozen the bag can be removed from the box and stored in the freezer. Defrost thoroughly and reheat until bubbling hot.