You know that moment when you create something wonderful and you just can’t contain yourself? As soon as I tasted this soup, knowing just how much I duped those hefty grams of fat usually found in cream soups, I knew this was going to be a huge hit. Saying nothing of my devious tricks, I kind of sprang a bowl of this on every member of my family as they came in the door at the end of the day.
Eyebrows were raised, yummy sounds were made and eyes rolled back into heads. Truly.
“Did you put cream in this?”
“Nope.”
“Well, what makes it so creamy?”
“I’m not telling you.”
Eyes rolled back…again.
My secret to creating this beautiful creamy texture is tofu! I’ve found that whirling up some soft silken tofu either in a blender or using an immersion blender, creates a silky cream that mimics traditional heavy cream. With tofu, you’re eliminating a huge amount of fat, saturated fats and cholesterol. One cup of heavy cream has…get ready for this…eighty-eight grams of fat! One cup of silken tofu has about eight.
We actually eat tofu often and I’ve found a tofu that we really love and I’m so excited to be working with! Mori-Nu tofu is a creamy silken tofu unlike pressed tofu packed in water. The texture is so much nicer. One of the things I love most about Non-GMO Mori-Nu tofu, is their packaging. They developed a process where the tofu is made in an aseptic package that protects the tofu from light, air and microorganisms without using any preservatives. The tofu can be kept without refrigeration for a shelf life of one year! I can’t tell you how many packages of refrigerated pressed tofu I’ve thrown out over the years! This eliminates that problem!
Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons olive oil
10 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced (I use baby bella)
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup marsala (you can substitute with white wine)
1 medium russet potato, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 small bay leaf
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
3/4 cup uncooked wild rice (see Notes)
12 ounce package Mori-Nu Soft Silken tofu
Melt butter in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until they become golden. They’ll release their moisture first, then once the liquid evaporated, they’ll begin to brown. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside in a small dish.
Add the olive oil to the pan along with the onions, celery and carrots. Cook until the onions are softened. Add the garlic and cook for just one more minute. Add the flour and stir to coat the vegetables. Add the marsala or white wine and reduce evaporated completely. Add the broth, potato, thyme, bay leaf, mushrooms and the wild rice (see Notes about the rice) to the pot. Bring the soup to a boil then immediately reduce to a simmer. Cover the pot and simmer on low for 30 minutes.
In a blender or in a measuring cup if using an immersion blender, blend the tofu until smooth and creamy. Once the soup is done, remove the pot from the heat and stir the tofu into the soup until blended.
Serves 6
Notes:
- I use a wild rice that has been cracked so that it will cook a bit quicker. If you can’t find a quicker cooking wild rice, use precooked wild rice and add it at the last five minutes of cooking time.
- To keep this vegan, omit the butter and use 2 tablespoons of olive oil and use vegetable broth.
- To keep this gluten-free, omit the flour completely. The soup will still be creamy and delicious.
You can enter to win a $100 Visa Gift card, a Mori-Nu tofu cook book and six packages of Mori-Nu tofu! Enter now until November 4, 2014.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Mori-nu. The opinions and text are all mine.