How to make late celebrated chef Anthony Bourdain’s mushroom soup

Fans constantly reshare clips from his shows Parts Unknown and No Reservations and recipes from his numerous best-selling books. His reserved yet charming bad-boy mystique, open-mindness and big-heart made him one of the most beloved chefs and documentarians with his suicide making shockwaves around the world.

He famously once said: "If I'm an advocate for anything, it's to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. Walk in someone else's shoes or at least eat their food. It's a plus for everybody."

The New York City-born, New Jersey-raised chef's mushroom soup recipe found in his "Les Halles Cookbook" with José de Meirelles and Philippe Lajaunie released in 2004 is the perfect soup to prep for a warm, comforting meal that can last for days. In fact, experts at Epicurious say the “easy to make' soup is “tasty, durable, and gets even better overnight.” It takes a little over an hour to make and can be completed in just five steps.

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Ingredients

6 tbsp/75 g butter

1 small onion, thinly sliced

12 ounces/340 g button mushrooms

4 cups/900 ml light chicken stock or broth

1 sprig of flat parsley

2 ounces/56 ml high-quality sherry

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

The following was directly quoted from Anthony Bourdain's "Les Halles Cookbook: Strategies, Recipes, and Techniques of Classic Bistro Cooking," co-written with José de Meirelles and Philippe Lajaunie released in 2004.

Step 1

In the medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons/28 g of the butter over medium heat and add the onion. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent, then add the mushrooms and the remaining butter. Let the mixture sweat for about 8 minutes, taking care that the onion doesn't take on any brown color. Stir in the chicken stock and the parsley and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour.

Step 2

After an hour, remove the parsley and discard. Let the soup cool for a few minutes, then transfer to the blender and carefully blend at high speed until smooth. Do I have to remind you to do this in stages, with the blender's lid firmly held down, and with the weight of your body keeping that thing from flying off and allowing boiling hot mushroom purée to erupt all over your kitchen?

Step 3

When blended, return the mix to the pot, season with salt and pepper, and bring up to a simmer again. Add the sherry, mix well, and serve immediately.

Step 4

To astound your guests with a Wild Mushroom Soup, simply replace some of those button mushrooms with a few dried cèpes or morels, which have been soaked until soft, drained, and squeezed. Not too many; the dried mushrooms will have a much stronger taste, and you don't want to overwhelm the soup. Pan sear, on high heat, a single small, pretty, fresh chanterelle or morel for each portion, and then slice into a cute fan and float on top in each bowl.

Step 5

And if you really want to ratchet your soup into pretentious (but delicious), drizzle a few tiny drops of truffle oil over the surface just before serving. Why the hell not? Everybody else is doing it.