You know something is good when word-of-mouth offers such comments as, ‘You have to try it’ and, ‘It’s the best I’ve ever tasted’ – if this were cinema we’d be talking Oscars. What we’re actually referring to, though, is a lot less glamorous; just good-old-fashioned mushroom soup, although far better than the classic ‘cream of’ variety that Campbell’s (and Grandma) used to make. But when such a simple dish generates the kind of cult status given to a Michelin-starred Chateaubriand, it’s certainly worthy of further investigation.
The inventor of said soup is Gilles Perrin, executive sous chef at Afyä restaurant – Trader Hotel’s all-day dining venue. It’s a busy day when Time Out decides to stop by for a cooking masterclass and Chef Perrin has an appointment with ‘hair and make-up’ after he’s done with us (the hotel is in the throngs of producing a promotional DVD). ‘I’m a chef, model, actor… everything!’ he jokes – perhaps an Oscar is on the cards after all, especially considering Perrin’s star turns at such restaurants as Bord Eau in sister hotel Shangri-La; Snappers Seafood restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton in Singapore and the Spoon Food and Wine in Paris under the direction of gastronomic godfather Alain Ducasse.
But today is all about unearthing the secret to good – sorry, great – mushroom soup. And it’s remarkably simple. Unfortunately, simple doesn’t also mean slimming – like chocolate, cheese, chunky chips and all those deliciously indulgent foodstuffs – this dish is full-fat all the way. The liquid foundation of the soup is cream, nothing else, unless you count a splash of water here and there. ‘The first steps are the most important,’ Chef Perrin explains. ‘Your liquid should already be hot before you start cooking, so reduce the cream first (which gives the soup its wonderfully thick consistency) and leave to one side at room temperature. Then you can start cooking the body ingredients.’
The ‘body’ Chef Perrin is referring to includes the onions, mushrooms, herbs and seasoning, and he offers a few useful tips along the way. ‘When cooking the mushrooms, it’s important not to add the seasoning straight away as it will draw the water out of them – wait until they are soft before you season.’ For a dish so celebrated, it’s surprising that the star ingredient is bog-standard button mushrooms – why not something with more culinary prowess, like porcini or shitake? ‘Unfortunately, button mushrooms are the easiest to find in the UAE, and, of course, they are the most affordable (at Dhs30 for the soup with a side of melted brie crostini, it’s a bargain)… of course you can use porcini or shitake, but they have such strong flavours, so I would combine them with button mushrooms – this way you’ll get just a nice smoky hint.’
Yes, we all love those wonderfully artistic, molecular-style, foam-scattered dishes of the fine-dining variety, but if a chef can produce an exceptional dish with the simplest of ingredients, well, surely that says more about the creative mind of its maker. ‘I’ve gone from fine dining [at Bord Eau] to casual [at Afya] but at the end of the day, it’s the same – I need to feed people. For me, I don’t see any difference, whether people who are paying Dhs60 or Dhs500 – they are all eating and want to enjoy the food and it’s my job to make sure they do.’
With the soup now simmered to perfection and the brie-layered bread bubbling nicely under the grill, Chef Perrin pours the liquid into a blender, adding another two knobs of butter for good measure – did I mention the generous calorific content of this dish? Still, when it tastes this good who’s counting?
The soup is reassuringly rich with a mouth-watering slab of toast and brie placed in the centre of the bowl – no mess, no fuss – this is comfort food at its very best.
Mushroom soup with Brie cheese Crostini
Ingredients (for four people)
• 250g button mushrooms
• 2 white onions
• 10g butter
• 0.5 litres cream
• 1 garlic (to taste)
• Salt and pepper (to taste)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 bunches of thyme
• 8 slices of bread
• 8 slices of brie cheese
Method of preparation
• Wash the mushrooms and slice.
• Peel and chop the onions and the garlic.
• In a pot, reduce the cream to 1/3
• In a pot, melt the butter and sear the onion (until brown), garlic, bay leaf and thyme over a medium heat.
• Increase the heat and add the mushroom until soft – then season.
• Add the cream and simmer until cooked (eight-10mins).
• Toast your bread and melt brie on top.
• Remove the thyme and bay leaf, mix the soup with a hand blender and rectify the seasoning.
• Serve hot with croutons or a slice of toast and brie in the centre of the bowl and then another slice on the side.
