Tarragon Rosemary Chicken Mushroom Soup

Do you ever feel suddenly inspired to cook a certain dish? Today on the way home from the library, I had a hankering for soup and concluded that it had to be a certain recipe that I hadn’t prepared in at least a year. Thankfully, I had all the ingredients on hand!

This recipe was obtained from a restaurant server who got it scribbled from the chef…the restaurant no longer serves the soup and I modified it- here’s my version:

Sautee chopped onions in butter, add mushrooms. Quantities to your choice- suggest a couple of tablespoons of butter, about 1/3 cup onions, 1 or more cups mushrooms. Set aside onion mixture. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter, and once it's melted, add one tablespoon whole wheat flour. Once flour is absorbed, add another tablespoon of flour. Allow flour to warm but stay nearby to avoid burning. Gradually add 1 1/3 cups chicken stock (I added about 1/3 cup at a time, stirring to incorporate flour). Once stock mixture has warmed up, add 1 cup skim milk*. Add ½ teaspoon tarragon, ¼ teaspoon rosemary, and salt/pepper to taste. Add about 4 ounces of cooked & shredded chicken. Add the sauteed onions and mushrooms. If you are slightly crazy like me, add 4 or so ounces of chopped cooked chestnuts.

I can’t remember if I’ve ever added boiled & cubed potatoes to this soup in the past, but I may try that next time. I can’t believe the original recipe called for garlic powder, which I don’t own. By the time I saw it listed on the card with the herbs, I’d already prepared the onions and mushrooms…note to self: add fresh garlic to the onions at the beginning! That said, this soup is so fragrant and rich, it is actually wonderful without any garlic.

* of course, the original recipe calls for cream!

I never provided an update on the watermelon saga in our garden (bites stolen by 4 legged critters)- here is the one successful melon that grew to softball size.