Katrina Meynink’s mushroom, potato and bacon soup

Name: Katrina Meynink’s mushroom, potato and bacon soup
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 6-8
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Ingredients: 4 tbsp butter; 3 tbsp olive oil; 2 brown onions, diced; 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 750g mushrooms (I used a mix of what I could find fresh at my local greengrocer), sliced; 1 litre chicken stock (you may need more); 1kg baby potatoes, halved; 350ml thickened cream; 350g bacon rashers, roughly chopped

Katrina Meynink

May 1, 2023

Soup with structure: Chunky mushroom and potato soup topped with crispy bacon.Katrina Meynink

easyTime:30 mins - 1 hourServes:6-8

I love a soup I can stand a spoon in, and this is the epitome of soup with structure. It’s thrown-together, but in the very best way. I don’t like the grey colour that so many mushroom soups can turn, so I prefer to leave a lot of the fungi large and lovely. You can of course blitz all of this down into a smooth soup.

Ingredients

4 tbsp butter
3 tbsp olive oil
2 brown onions, diced
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
750g mushrooms (I used a mix of what I could find fresh at my local greengrocer), sliced
1 litre chicken stock (you may need more)
1kg baby potatoes, halved
350ml thickened cream
350g bacon rashers, roughly chopped

Method

Step 1
Place a large pot or high-sided frying pan over medium heat. Add the butter and olive oil, and once foaming, add the onions and cook for 2-5 minutes or until completely soft. This is where a lot of the sweetness for this soup comes from so don’t rush this step.
Step 2
Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms have softened and look significantly reduced in volume. Add the chicken stock and potatoes and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the potatoes can easily be pierced with a knife. (If the stock has reduced too significantly in this time, add more stock, ½ a cup at a time.)
Step 3
Add the cream, stir gently to combine, and cook for a further few minutes until warmed through.
Step 4
As soon as you have added the cream, place a frying pan over medium heat. Add the bacon rashers and cook for 1-3 minutes, or until cooked through and crisp.
Step 5
Ladle the soup into bowls. Top with crispy bacon and season generously with salt and pepper. Serve piping hot.