Wild Mushroom Velouté with Whipped Truffle Cream

⏱ 70 min · Serves 4

Deep, woodsy and silky as velvet — a proper restaurant-style velouté built on a dried porcini stock and a slow-caramelised mushroom base, finished with a cloud of whipped truffle cream that melts into the bowl. Small bowls, big impact.

Per serving: 432 kcal · 9.0g protein · 16.0g carbs · 36.0g fat

Ingredients

• 25g dried porcini mushrooms
• 600ml boiling water
• 40g unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 banana shallot, finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 400g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 200g mixed wild mushrooms (girolles, oyster, trompette), torn
• 2 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
• 1 small floury potato (about 120g), peeled and diced
• 500ml good chicken or vegetable stock
• 75ml dry white wine or dry sherry
• 100ml double cream
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Sea salt and white pepper
• 150ml double cream, well chilled (for the truffle cream)
• 1.5 tsp truffle oil or 1 tsp truffle paste
• 1 tbsp finely grated Parmesan (optional)
• A few wild mushroom slices and chives, to garnish

Method

1. Soak the dried porcini in the 600ml boiling water for 20 minutes. Lift out, chop roughly, and strain the soaking liquid through a coffee filter or muslin — keep it.
2. Melt the butter with the oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook 4 minutes until soft, then add the garlic and thyme for 1 minute.
3. Turn the heat up and add the chestnut and wild mushrooms plus the chopped porcini. Cook 12–15 minutes, stirring only occasionally, until deeply golden and any liquid has evaporated — this browning is where the flavour lives. Set aside a small handful of the prettiest mushrooms for garnish.
4. Pour in the wine or sherry and scrape the base clean; let it bubble away almost completely.
5. Add the diced potato, the strained porcini liquor and the stock. Simmer gently for 20 minutes until the potato is completely tender.
6. Blend until absolutely smooth — a high-speed blender for 2 full minutes is worth it — then pass through a fine sieve back into a clean pan, pressing hard.
7. Stir in the 100ml cream, warm through without boiling, then season with salt, white pepper and the lemon juice. Loosen with a splash of stock if it's thicker than pouring cream.
8. For the truffle cream, whip the chilled 150ml cream to soft peaks, then fold in the truffle oil, Parmesan if using, and a pinch of salt. Keep cold.
9. Reheat the reserved mushrooms in a hot dry pan for 1 minute. Pour the velouté into warm bowls, spoon a quenelle of truffle cream into the centre, scatter the mushrooms and snipped chives, and serve at once.