The north-east was hit with a massive snowstorm tonight, and since we live in an apartment with wall-to-wall french windows that means being free to enjoy the beauty of the falling snow without worrying about shoveling! It is also a perfect night for a bright and fresh soup that warms you up but is not too heavy. This chicken and mushroom soup has a clean cream background, classic Mirepoix flavors kicked up with some spice, and a punch of fresh thyme to really brighten it up. This isn’t your depressing, monotone, blended ‘cream of’ winter soup; a snowy white night deserves a colorful soup like this!

Now, I have nothing against homemade ‘Cream of’ soups, but there is something about simmering everything to a colorless muddle and blending it till not an ounce of texture is left (often involving the thrilling and dangerous act of transferring hot liquid from the pot to the blender back to the pot) that just seems to go against the spirit of a snowy day. When you sit back to enjoy the beauty of nature, you want to partake in the enjoyment of earthy flavors in a whole form. A rough chop on the vegetables, a light hand on the spices, half the usual cooking time of regular soup-making will leave you with a mouthful of flavor with enjoy time to lay back and enjoy the wondrous snowflakes as the wifey and I did tonight.

THE RECIPE: SNOWY CHICKEN AND MUSHROOM SOUP

YOU’LL NEED:

• 1 pound boneless chicken breasts, diced
• 12 to 16 ounces mushrooms, cut in quarters (any combination of fresh ones, as desired).
• 2 medium white onions, sliced
• 1 large rib celery, diced
• 1/2 cup carrot, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, leaves torn and chopped roughly
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Fresh ground black pepper, as desired
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

THE RECIPE:

• In a large saucepan, heat butter and olive oil over medium-low heat.
• Add diced chicken, onions, carrots, and celery; cook, stirring, until chicken is nearly cooked through.
• Add the mushrooms and continue cooking, stirring, until mushrooms are tender.
• Stir in flour until blended; add chicken broth and thyme. Bring to a simmer, stirring.
• Cover and reduce heat to low; cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
• Add salt, cayenne pepper and  black pepper to taste.
• Stir in cream and heat through.