Mushroom-Bacon Soup

Plan Z Phase: This is a Z3 (ZReboot) recipe.

Servings: 4-5 one cup servings.

I had a hankering for bacon. My husband wanted mushroom soup. And thus, this was born. I saw a similar recipe online and just simplified it to my tastes.

Ingredients:

• 5 bacon strips (I use nitrate and nitrite-free bacon)
• 1 pound sliced, clean, fresh mushrooms. (My mushrooms were large, so as they cooked I chopped some into smaller pieces with my spatula. I used all button mushrooms but you could use some exotic ones too)
• 1/2 a medium onion, or shallot, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 cups of heavy whipping cream
• 8 oz. of beef broth (you can also use chicken broth for a slightly lighter flavor or even vegetable for a vegetarian version of the soup)
• ½ cup of shredded Swiss cheese (or gruyere)
• grated sea salt and pepper to taste
• a whisper of cayenne (optional)

Instructions:

In a medium soup pot, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a tong, move the bacon to paper towels to drain. When cool, chop the bacon. In the same soup pot, reserve a coating of the drippings. In the drippings, saute mushrooms and onion until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in cream and broth. Gradually stir in cheese until melted. Add cayenne. (I like my soup to have a little brightness to it. The whisper of cayenne adds that without any real heat). Add any of the diced bacon to the soup that you want. I added most of it and reserved just a bit for garnish. Continue to cook to let the cream thicken to your liking.

Serve in soup bowls.

Enjoy!

Cheers,