Chicken and Mushroom soup
that packs in the flavour

This rich, tasty chicken and mushroom soup is good enough for special occasions! Unlike most of the recipes on this site, which are for one or two people, this one serves 6...so there is plenty to go around when you have guests over.

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 50 min

Total time: 1 hour

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

chicken stock; 2.75 pints (1.5 litres)
chicken breasts; 4 skinless, boneless
garlic; 2 cloves crushed
fresh tarragon; small bunch, or 1/4tsp dried tarragon
butter; 1/2 oz (15g)
chestnut mushrooms; 14oz (400g)
dry white wine; 3 tbsp
flour; 6 tbsp
whipping or double cream; 6 fl oz
chopped fresh parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Bring the stock to the boil in a large heavy based saucepan. Add the chicken, garlic and tarragon. Turn the heat down, cover the pan and let it simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
Remove the chicken from the pan and leave to cool for a bit. Strain the stock into a jug or large bowl for later.
Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.
Next, melt the butter in a large frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat. Add the mushrooms to the pan, and season with salt and pepper. Fry gently, stirring the mushrooms, for 5-8 minutes until they are golden brown.
Pour the wine into the frying pan and let it bubble for a moment or two. Then remove from the heat.
Take a small bowl and put the flour into it. Then gradually whisk in the cream to make a thick paste. Stir in a little of the stock you reserved earlier to make a smooth liquid.
Bring the rest of the stock back to the boil. Whisk in the flour mixture and let it come back to the boil. Boil for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently until the chicken and mushroom soup thickens.
Add the mushrooms, and any liquid that has leaked from them and the chicken pieces.
Simmer over a low heat for about 10 minutes to make sure everything is heated through. Serve, sprinkled with chopped parsley.