Cream of Shiitake Mushroom Soup

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== Description ==
This rich, earthy soup has but 100 calories per serving if made with non-fat milk. 
== Ingredients ==
* 1 quart milk, whole, low-fat or skim
* 1 small onion, peeled and stuck with 2 cloves
* 6 whole peppercorns (or more)
* 1 pinch salt
* 4 tbsp rice flour (or barley or oat flour)
* 4 tbsp cold milk (about)
* 8 oz shiitake mushrooms
=== Bouquet garni ===
* 6 fresh parsley stems
* ½ tsp dried leaf thyme
* ½ bay leaf
=== Optional ===
* 6 tbsp heavy cream
* 2 tbsp Madeira
* reserved mushroom slices
== Directions ==
# Tie the herbs for the Bouquet garni together in a cheesecloth
# Place the milk, onion, peppercorns, salt and bouquet garni in a saucepan and bring slowly to a boil. 
# Form a smooth paste of the rice flour and the cold milk. Put into the just-boiling milk and stir briskly until there are no lumps. 
# Simmer over very low heat for 20 minutes. 
# Meanwhile, cut off the tough ends of the mushroom stems. Reserve a few mushroom slices for garnish and chop the remaining mushrooms coarsely, then place in a food processor with a steel blade and chop as finely as possible. 
# Strain the milk mixture through a fine sieve back into the saucepan; add the chopped mushrooms and continue simmering 5 minutes. 
# Add the cream and Madeira, if you wish, and serve in hot bowls, garnished with a slice of mushroom
Category:Barley flour Recipes
Category:Low-calorie Recipes
Category:Madeira Recipes
Category:Oat flour Recipes
Category:Rice flour Recipes
Category:Shiitake mushroom Recipes
Category:Soup Recipes