Peter Gordon's creamy mushroom and hazelnut soup recipe

This semi-chunky soup is simple to make and very tasty. You can make it from a variety of mushrooms or just plain old field mushrooms, but button mushrooms by themselves won’t have enough flavour. Walnuts work just as well as hazelnuts.

Creamy mushroom and hazelnut soup

serves 4

30g butter
1 leek, rinsed and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
20 sage leaves
500g mushrooms, sliced
100g roasted, skinless hazelnuts, roughly chopped
600ml vegetable stock
2 tbsp soy sauce
200ml cream
salt (or extra soy sauce)
50ml creme fraiche, to garnish
1 tbsp snipped chives, to garnish

Cook the butter in a wide pan until it becomes nut-brown in colour.

Add the leek, garlic and sage, and saute over moderate heat until the leek has completely wilted, stirring frequently.

Add the mushrooms and hazelnuts, and cook until the mushrooms wilt.

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Stir in the stock, soy sauce and cream, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to a rapid simmer, put a lid on and cook for 15 minutes.

Use a stick blender to partially puree the soup, leaving it semi-chunky – although you can keep it fully chunky if you prefer. If using a “bar blender”, blend small amounts at a time so the hot soup doesn’t burn you.

Bring back to a simmer and taste for seasoning, adding salt or extra soy sauce, if needed.

To serve, ladle into hot bowls, and garnish with creme fraiche and chives.