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This Lebanese Mushroom Soup is a simple, delicious, pureed mushroom soup for autumn that just happens to be vegan. Almonds sautéed with sumac add a delicious tangy garnish. I adapted a recipe from Salma Hage’s The Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookbook. It’s always a comforting yet vibrant soup, and very nourishing. I love the contrast of the smooth soup topped with crunchy almonds and croutons.
Lebanese Mushroom Soup with Sumac Almonds
This Lebanese Mushroom Soup is a simple, delicious, pureed mushroom soup for autumn that just happens to be vegan.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 2 carrots
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 bunch thyme
- 500 g mixed mushrooms (today I used a combination of cremini & shittake)
- 6 – 6 1/2 cups veg broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- homemade croutons (tear hunks of sourdough, toss with salt & olive oil, bake until crispy)
For the Sumac Almonds:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 heaping teaspoon sumac
- 2/3 cup almonds
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Chop the onion. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion and sauté. While it is beginning to sauté, chop the carrots. Add the carrots and sauté with the onion until they are both soft and starting to turn golden.
- While they are cooking, chop the garlic and pluck the thyme leaves from the branches. Trim and quarter the mushrooms. Add the garlic and thyme to the pot. Stir. After a minute, and the mushrooms. Stir and cook about 10 minutes over simmering heat, until everything is soft. Pour in the vegetable broth, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer for 20 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, then use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Taste for salt and pepper. Adjust the consistency of the soup with more broth if necessary.
- While the soup is simmering, make the homemade croutons. Tear sourdough, toss with salt and olive oil, then bake until crispy.
- To make the almond topping, chop the almonds. Heat the oil in a small skillet or pan. Add the almonds, sumac, and salt. Stir and toast until golden. Remove from the heat to a small bowl so the almonds don’t continue to cook in the pan.
- Serve the soup garnished with a sprinkling of sumac almonds, a few homemade croutons, and a drizzle of fresh olive oil.