Cream of mushroom soup

1 onion, finely chopped
275 g sliced mushrooms (mixed white and brown)
1 tblspn butter
2 tblspn flour
2 cups milk
handful of dried sliced mushrooms (cover with boiling water)
1 chicken stock cube
1 mushroom stock cube

Fry the onion in a pot with the butter until softened and going golden. While the frying is taking place, cover the dried mushrooms with boiling water and let sit. Add the fresh mushrooms to the pot with the onions and cook for 3/4 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and continue to fry for a few minutes. Add a splash of milk and stir rapidly to blend as smoothly as possible (a whisk can be useful for this).

Once blended, add milk gradually until all milk is used up. throw in the dried mushrooms (including the soaking water) as well as the chicken and mushroom stock cubes. Bring to a slow boil and then drop temperature again.

If you like your soups a little saltier, add a splash of mushroom soy, and for an extra kick, you can add a generous splash of vermouth (sherry is also good). Serve.

I blended this soup because of my current non-solids diet, but what I would recommend is maybe blending three quarters of the soup until deliciously smooth, then adding the rest back in, so that you can enjoy the texture of the pieces of mushroom.