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If Porcini are the kings of the mushroom world, chanterelles are its queen.
There are several varieties of chanterelle, ranging from the white to the cinnabar to the various yellow ones. Golden chanterelles are the most common variety of chanterelle here in the West, and those in the Pacific Northwest can start getting them in July. Here they don’t really pop until October, although you can go up to Humboldt and dodge the pot farmers for them in September.
Golden chanterelles are far less meaty and are more delicate than porcini, or really most any other common edible mushroom. Chanterelles taste floral and smell fruity, although I could not quite pick up the apricot notes many say golden chanterelles possess.
To me, chanterelles are less of a beef-venison-duck mushroom than a wild boar-pheasant-fish mushroom. Think white wine instead of red.
When cooking with mushrooms in general — and golden chanterelles in specific — lean towards butter as a cooking medium. Mushrooms enjoy a bath in butter far more than they do a dip in any other sort of fat or oil. I defy you to not swoon when you smell chanterelles, garlic and bacon sizzling in a pan of hot butter.
Butter is nice, but butter and cream are better. This chanterelle soup is an ode to the grand master of classic French cooking, Auguste Escoffier and his culinary bible, Le Guide Culinaire — it is, in essence, a cream of mushroom soup.
But this ain’t your mama’s cream of mushroom soup, folks. No packets here, no cans, either. This is the real deal. Remember how the wicked chef in the movie “Ratatouille”  rolled his eyes back in his head when he tasted Remy’s soup? This is that kind of soup. And this is about as classic French as it gets.
This is, dear readers, the Sexiest Soup in the World: Escoffier’s Cream of Chanterelle Soup.
The flavor hammers you with chanterelle’s beguiling flavor, backed with a whiff of saffron, the creamy mouthfeel of a classic veloute (stock whisked with a blond roux), and a slightly slutty wink from the dash of Armagnac I put in, all given added heft from a liaison of cream and egg yolks. Folks, this is what you want to eat right before a romp with Bella — fleas be damned.
Veloute, you say? Liaison? If you’ve dusted off your Mastering the Art of French Cooking, you may have recently been reminded of these terms, or if you are classically trained you may be having flashbacks.
Veloute (vel-oo-TAY), is easy. It’s a mixture of hot stock and a roux made from equal parts flour and butter. You must whisk in the stock to get the mixture to set correctly, which, when it does, makes a broth that looks like liquid satin.
Liaison is a bit harder, but only a bit. It is an ancient method of thickening a soup, by adding a mixture of beaten egg yolks and cream (the Greeks make avgolemono by adding a mixture of egg yolks and lemon). The trick is to temper your eggs so they do not scramble, then never letting the soup boil after the liaison is added.
The result? Not just any old chanterelle soup. This is sex in a bowl.
Looking for more chanterelle recipes besides chanterelle soup? I make a mean chanterelle pasta, and an even better chanterelle risotto.
Escoffier's Chanterelle Soup
Ingredients
VELOUTE
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
SOUP
- 1 pound fresh mushrooms, ideally chanterelles
- 2 shallots, minced
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1 shot glass brandy
- 1/4 teaspoon saffron
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Make the veloute. Heat the stock to a bare simmer. In another pot, heat the butter until frothing and stir in the flour. Stirring all the while, let this cook for a few minutes over medium heat. Do not let it brown. Whisk the hot stock into the roux and let this simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often. You want it to slowly cook down by at about 1/4 and be silky looking.
- While the veloute is simmering, make the mushroom base. Mince the mushrooms and shallots fine and sweat them in a saute pan over medium heat with a touch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the shallots are translucent and the mushrooms give up their water.
- Crumble the saffron into the brandy and add it to the mushroom base. Turn the heat up to high and toss or stir to combine. Cook until the brandy is nearly gone. Buzz the mushroom base into a puree in a food processor. OPTIONAL: If you want a truly refined French soup, push this puree through a fine-mesh strainer.
- When the veloute is ready, add the mushroom puree and stir well to combine. Cook this at a bare simmer for 10 minutes. OPTIONAL: If you want a mushroom garnish, slice a few chanterelles lengthwise and sear them in an dry pan until they give up their water and brown.
- Beat together the egg yolks and cream, then ladle — a little at a time — some soup base into the egg-cream mixture. This is called a liaison, and you are tempering the eggs with the hot stock slowly, so they do not congeal. Once you have 3 or 4 ladles of soup into egg-cream mixture, pour it all back into the soup and simmer. Do not boil or it will break. OPTIONAL: Put this soup through the fine-mesh strainer again to remove any lumps and return to low heat.
- To finish the soup, turn off the heat and whisk in the remaining butter. Serve with the seared mushrooms in the center, with crusty bread and white wine. Enjoy decadence.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
A walk in the woods with my hubby + a sharp knife and a huge chanterelle patch + this recipe = one fabulous evening. This was absolutely divine!
This is delicious! I will be descrating all or some of it, using adding corn, bacon and potatoes to make a chowder.
I made this a few years back. DELICIOUS. We have been so lucky to have so much rain this year in GA that our chanterelle harvest is abundant! I am so excited to make this again. Thank you for providing the recipe!
What a wonderful recipe! We made this soup using Amanita velosa. It was amazing. Will definitely try again with other wild mushrooms. Thanks for sharing.
What is the best herb to garnish with? The photo shows but there it is not listed in the instructions.
Kathleen: Whatever you like. Parsley, chervil, fresh thyme, chives are all good choices.
Thanksgiving morning in the Bay Area I set out to look for oak chanterelles for David Arora’s event in Gualala that weekend. I came home with 4 lbs. After setting aside the nicest specimens for the ID table, I decided to try my hand at chanterelle soup for the first time. I was a little scared of the risk of scrambled eggs, but decided to go for it. I served it at David’s house Saturday night to a crowd of mushroom lovers, and it went over *really* well. Loved the recipe; will definitely do again and also try out with other mushrooms.
Hello, I am making this soup and taking it to work in the morning, to celebrate Chanterelle season where we work in the Pacific Northwest. Any advice for making it crock pot compatible? Should I add the eggs & cream when I get there? There is no stovetop at my office, just a microwave (forbid!).
Jane: Yep, I’d skip the egg and cream until you serve.
Have you every tried making this with any type of nut milk? My daughter has trouble with dairy. I did make this recipe for my Husband and I yesterday. Fantastic!
Stephanie: Nope. If it works can you let us know?
I make this soup multiple times a year. Often I skip the liaison. Last night, I was tired from hunting and still insisted on making this at 10pm. I added some bacon, potatoe, half and half, and leak. Heaven. Now tell me what to do with lobster mushrooms because I’m lost and all I want is more of this soup.
Jackie: Sure, about 1/2 cup total.
How large should the shallots be? I have a shallot that is about 2-3 inches long and an inch or so wide. Is there an equivalent measurement in cups that I can use? Thanks!
Holy crap. That took a while, but it was worth every second. Sex in a bowl is accurate.
Hello hello. I have just made this soup. Wonderful.
Only thing is l added some freshly grounded pepper.
Made this today with my beautiful chanterelles from northern Saskatchewan. I had all the ingredients in my kitchen. Bonus. Delicious.
Thanks for the enticing recipe – after reading about seven times I finally made this sex in a bowl. With Humboldt golden chantrelles and with my favorite cooking tools this non trained hobby chef finally pulled off the most complicated dish of her life. Thanks for the inspiration! It took exactly two hours but I’m sure next time I can pull it off in an hour. 🙂
I tried your soup with cremini mushrooms and turkey stock. Absolutely fabulous!
My neighbor gave me some Chanterelle mushrooms and I had no idea what to do with them. After looking on Pinterest I decided that your recipe was the best. I followed it to the letter including the egg/cream liaison. Yum!
I would suggest a garlic butter saute before freezing mushrooms. For the poster above.
You had me at sex in a bowl. My family harvested an astonishing 20# today, and still left PLENTY for hopeful foragers.
Do you have a preferred preserving method:dry saute and freeze, or dry?
My wife and I found quite a few chanterelles last month. I froze them till we can use them all. I’ll have to try this recipe. I just heard from a couple of our friends last night that with the heavy rains 2 days ago, they are popping up in droves again. This is a good year for chanterelles.