Dairy-Free Cashew Cream Foraged Mushroom Soup (Cream of Deceiver Soup).
Inflation is hitting hard in the United States and food budgets across the nation are getting stretched. Foraging wild food can really help stretch your budget. Free food that is organic and nutritious. Nothing gets better than that! Now is the time in the NW United States to forage for mushrooms. Chanterelle and Morel are the typical species people usually hunt for in the coastal Oregon forests. However, there are many other different species that are edible. For this recipe Laccaria laccata is used. It’s also known as The Deceiver. There was a big urge to call this recipe Cream of Deceiver Soup or Heavy Deceiver Soup but any mild flavored mushroom will work, even store bought.
A basket of freshly foraged mushrooms, dirt and all. Be sure to clean your foraged mushrooms well.
When foraging for mushrooms, or any wild food for that matter, you need to be 100% sure of the identification. Do not make soup out of any mushroom you are not sure of the identification. Your local extension service may be able to help you as well as other local foragers. Develop a keen eye for individual differences between species and do a lot of research. The Audubon identification books are really helpful in explaining what to look for in identification.
Laccaria laccata is pretty wide spread around the United States and United Kingdom. It may be found in Central America and across Europe as well. Here are some links to explore the Deceiver to help you identify it.
Common Laccaria | Missouri Department of Conservation
Scottish Fungi - Laccaria laccata (The Deceiver) (google.com)
When foraging for food, sometimes it is easier to look around your surroundings and ask “What is this, can I eat it?” rather than looking specifically for certain food items. This recipe was born from such a fascination with the bounty the natural world provides. Part of the pond at Mossygoat Farm dries up every year. Just at the point of starting to fill up again for the season, it grew a cluster of these mushrooms. Clusters of mushrooms are called troops. Do you see the troop in the picture below? Foragers develop keen eyes as they are on the lookout for edible goodies.
Making Cashew Sour Cream
This recipe is based off the Hungarian Mushroom Soup in the The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen. It was the first cookbook I ever purchased and has been a treasure through the years. I highly recommend it. To change the recipe to dairy-free, stock was substituted for both the water and milk. Homemade cashew sour cream was used instead of dairy based sour cream.
You should soak the cashews for eight hours in tepid water or for one hour in hot water. However, if you forgot that part you can still make the sour cream. If you do not soak and soften your cashews they will be harder to blend but your end product will still be usable and delicious. This recipe makes about a half cup of cashew sour cream which is perfect for the recipe.
Making the Cashew Cream Foraged Mushroom Soup
Dairy-free Cashew Cream Foraged Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups of chopped foraged mushrooms (be 100% sure they are edible)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons dried dill
- 1 Tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 3 Tablespoons gluten-free flour
- 3 cups stock vegetable, chicken, or bone broth
- 1/2 cup cashew sour cream
- White (or black) pepper to taste
- Fresh minced parsley for top (optional)
- 3/4 cup cashews, soaked
- 3/8 cups water
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Soak cashews 8 hours in room temperature water or for one hour in hot water.
- Drain cashews and place in blender.
- Add all other ingredients and blend on high until smooth, at least several minutes.
- Prepare mushrooms by cleaning and slicing. If using Laccaria laccata, do not use stem.
- Heat a soup pot on medium heat and add olive oil. Add onions and sauté for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, salt, dill, and paprika. Stir well and cover. Cook for 15 more minutes, occasionally stirring to prevent burning.
- Stir in lemon juice and gradually sprinkle flour while stirring constantly so that the flour does not clump. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add stock, cover, and cook for 10 more minutes stirring often.
- Stir in sour cream and white or black pepper to taste. Whisk in cashew sour cream and heat until just below boiling. Serve hot and top with minced fresh parsley.
Take note that when the Laccaria species starts to age and dry out in the wild it begins to loose color. The same is true for the Laccaria in your refrigerator. You can see the discoloration below. If the mushrooms do not smell off and are not slimy then they should be safe. The mushrooms below were cleaned and then refrigerated for five days. Personally, I would not have used them past this point. They were not discolored on day four in the refrigerator.
Laccaria laccata is 100% edible. However, due to texture, the stalks are usually not eaten. Turn the mushrooms upside down and hold the stalks while you slice the tops into pieces that are 1/4” to 1/2” wide. You will need 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of chopped mushrooms to make the full recipe.
Heat a soup pot or dutch oven on medium heat heat and add olive oil. Add onions and sauté for five minutes. Add mushrooms, salt, dill, and paprika. Stir well, cover, and cook for about fifteen minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
Stir in lemon juice and gradually sprinkle the flour in while stirring constantly to prevent clumping. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for another five minutes, stirring every minute or so. Add stock, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.
Stir in cashew sour cream and pepper. White pepper is an excellent choice if you have it although black pepper will do as well. Top with finely minced chopped parsley. This recipe is complimented well with fresh baked thick sliced bread.
We hope you enjoy this recipe. Be sure to email us and tell us how you like it and what foraged species you used. If you enjoy foraging you may also enjoy Cat’s Ear Jelly and Queen Anne’s Lace Fritters.