Coconut milk adds interest to this light but creamy Mushroom Coconut Soup. It is pretty and looks nice garnished with chopped cilantro and crushed pink peppercorns or red pepper flakes. Try it piping hot on a cold day or closer to room temperature for a spring or summer starter.
Pairing Flavors for a Romantic Dinner
Ever know two people you thought had nothing in common? Then you find they really hit it off and make a great couple, or they turn out to be best friends? That’s the way I would have thought about mushrooms and coconut.
Truth is, I love mushrooms. Coconut, on the other hand, has been more of an acquired taste. As a child I avoided the stringy bits of shredded coconut I found in Christmas cookies and on Ambrosia Salads or German Chocolate Cakes. But over the years I have learned there are other forms of coconut and I find the flavor itself to be quite appealing. Still I tend to think of coconut as a sweet flavor, not the kind of thing I would instinctively pair with mushrooms. Neither did I expect to find mushrooms and coconut coupled in a soup featured in a book about romantic French cuisine.
Even so, as I was thumbing through cookbooks from my cookbook shelf recently, I found just such a recipe. I was searching for inspiration for a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner with friends, when I found myself lost in Table for Two: French Recipes for Romantic Dining. This book is loaded with gorgeous photos featuring the most beautiful food. The great thing is, many of the recipes are surprisingly simple to prepare. As I turned the pages, admiring recipe after recipe, a soup of sliced mushrooms in a coconut broth caught my eye. I couldn’t help but smile at that unique pairing.
Light But Creamy Mushroom Coconut Soup
The Mushroom Soup with Coconut recipe was intriguing and I vowed to give it a try. I adapted it slightly to make the quantities easier for me to work with, and to make the recipe vegan. My husband and I tasted it and agreed it was worth sharing. I took photos for my post and planned a menu for my Valentine’s Day dinner.
I thought I should post the recipe for Valentine’s Day. It makes a great starter for a romantic meal. But then I got busy preparing my Valentine’s Day dinner and the opportunity slipped by. So here I am, on a sunny Friday afternoon, trying to catch up on my blogging and post this great recipe. Often things happen around here in my own sweet time.
While this soup was perfect for Valentine’s Day, it also works well as a spring recipe. Coconut Mushroom Soup is light but creamy. A pretty soup, it looks nice garnished with chopped cilantro and crushed pink peppercorns or red pepper flakes. It can be served piping hot on a cold day or closer to room temperature for a spring or summer starter. Though delicious when served fresh from the stovetop, it stores well when made ahead and possibly tastes even a bit better when reheated, as the flavors have a chance to interact and develop a rapport.
Enjoy!
Mushroom Coconut Soup
4
servings10
minutes30
minutes40
minutesCoconut milk adds interest to this light but creamy soup. It is pretty and looks nice garnished with chopped cilantro and crushed pink peppercorns or red pepper flakes. Try it piping hot on a cold day or closer to room temperature for a spring or summer starter.
Ingredients
1 lb. white mushrooms, sliced
1 or 2 shallots, finely chopped
3 tablespoons butter, (or olive oil to make the recipe vegan)
1 cup vegetable (or chicken) broth
1 14 oz. can coconut milk
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
crushed pink peppercorns for garnish, if desired
Directions
- In a medium saucepan gently saute the shallots in butter over medium low heat until soft, approximately 2 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms and saute another 5 minutes.
- Add the broth and heat to boiling. Simmer and reduce, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk and simmer over low heat, 8 – 10 minutes, to allow flavors to blend.
- Stir in cilantro, if desired, or sprinkle on top of soup along with crushed peppercorns or red pepper flakes.
Notes
- Recipe Source: adapted from a recipe in Table for Two: French Recipes for Romantic Dining by Marianne Paquin.
Thanks for the comment, Taylor. I hope you like the soup. Happy New Year!
This recipe reminds me a little of Tom Kha, a Thai coconut soup with lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves infused in chicken broth and coconut milk, and often has chicken and mushrooms. It's one of my favorite foods.
Given my love for coconut and mushrooms, this soup sounds delicious, too! I know what I'm cooking tonight!
Simple,yet so elegant..Delicious soup. 10/10 😀
Came across this recipe earlier and have just made it myself. I added a tsp of red thai paste, a wee bit of ginger and also a bell pepper. Thanks so much for the inspiration!
The soup is wonderful.
Thanks Lisa
Theresa – This is an easy recipe. I love it when I discover that kind!
Grace – Try it! It’s really good.
Ricki – I think that you could change the ingredients around slightly and make a very good Thai soup. Add some lemongrass, ginger, lime juice and hot pepper to the broth while replacing some of the mushrooms with tofu and maybe bell pepper. Sounds good…
Noble Pig – I really never knew how good coconut could be.
Cathy – Thanks!
Anonymous – I used regular coconut milk for the creaminess I sort of expect from a traditional mushroom soup. I think the flavor would be good with either low fat coconut milk or coconut juice but the texture would be different, and wouldn’t seem quite right to me for this particular dish.
This sounds really great. Did you use coconut milk or coconut juice? Milk is a mix of shredded coconut and water, often sold in a can. Juice is the liquid inside a coconut that you drain out and drink when you buy them “fresh”. Just wondering. I am thinking you would need coconut milk as it would lend a creamy texture…
Love all the flavors in your yummy soup, Lisa. I was looking for a new recipe to try out. Thanks.
This looks so delicious, I am a coconut fanatic!
I just assumed this recipe was Thai in origin, since that cuisine so often combines coconut milk with–well, everything! It sounds divine, and I will definitely be trying it. 🙂
never in a million years would i have considered combining mushrooms and coconut. intriguing to say the least!
This recipe looks ridiculously easy but sounds very exotic. I may try to make it.