Arcimboldo’s Summer

Arcimboldo’s Summer
Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527-1593) was the master of these pre-surrealist paintings of figures formed of grouped objects (not always food).

Sunday 30 December 2018

Soup Quest: Yorkshire Provender Mushroom

Cold weather has now arrived – both in the sense of ambient temperature and annoying minor ailments. 

That means it's time for soup. And I am on a quest for soups that are (a) delicious (b) do not contain ludicrous quantities of salt and (c) preferably can be stored for long periods of time — so I can always have them on hand and just pull them out on a whim, or when a cold has made me too miserable to venture to the shops.

Well, Yorkshire Provender Mushroom Soup isn't really designed for long term storage. You can freeze it and keep it for a month... but then that's true for just about everything.

But it's not too high in salt (about half a gram per 100 grams, which is pretty standard for non-canned soups).

And it really is delicious.

And I'm not just saying so because it makes that boast on the carton. 

It also boasts the addition of "wholegrain black rice". I wasn't sure what the rice would bring to the party, but in fact it's an inspired addition, giving the soup a meaty density and good depth of flavour. Also, perhaps not surprisingly, a kind of pleasant risotto aftertaste.
 
I'm including a photo of the carton and also the soup on my table — tarted up with a bit of rosemary from my garden (he boasted) and a splash of milk...

As with all the other soups in this tasting, it was served up with Poilane sourdough toast liberally slathered with organic unsalted butter.

And a glass of water.

With a slice of lemon in it.

This is a terrific soup (well done, Yorkshire Provender) and I will definitely buy it again.

I just wish it could be stored for many months in a cupboard, like the Duchy Organic soups I wrote about before.

I'll be trying their own mushroom concoction as soon as I can get hold of it.

Stay tuned.

(Image credits: The pack shot is from Waitrose. The served-up shot is from my own fair camera.)

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