Cream of Mushroom Soup

[marysmith]

Ingredients

* 1 pound regular white mushrooms, cleaned, quartered or sliced
* 1 Tbsp lemon juice
* 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
* 2 Tbsp minced shallots
* 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/2 bay leaf
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
* 2 cups heavy cream
* 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
* 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp water
* Minced parsley for garnish

Method
1 In a food processor, coarsely chop mushrooms and lemon juice.

2 Melt butter in (4-5 quart) sauce pan and lightly sauté shallots on medium heat. Add mushrooms, thyme and bay leaf, sauté over moderate heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the liquid that is released from the mushrooms disappears.
3 Add salt, pepper, cream and chicken stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

4 Add cornstarch and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Correct seasoning and add more lemon juice to taste.

Serves 4. Serve sprinkled with a little parsley.