About a year ago, I had the opportunity to spend just a few days in Paris. It was the most incredible few days of my life – I think that Paris and I were meant to be. I have a passion for cheese, wine, art, music, stunning architecture, and sunsets. Paris is one of if not the most famous place in the world for all of that! What a dream it was.

Living with Celiac disease means that one part of travel that we rarely get to fully experience is enjoying the local cuisine. So much of French food is made with gluten, and with a language barrier added into the mix, I basically just survived off of cheese, champagne, and the dozens of protein bars that I had packed with me in preparation for this exact situation.

There were very few authentic French dishes that I was able to try, but one that has stuck in my mind every day since my trip was this incredible mushroom soup. I tried to ask the chef what was in it to make it so thick and creamy, partially because I wanted to recreate the recipe, and partially because I was afraid there had been a translation error and they had used flour – my nightmare! With his very thick French accent, the only words I could make out were fromage (my favorite French word) and Brie. So I have spent the last year trying to get this homemade version to taste like the original dish in Paris, and I think I finally got it right! I hope you love it as much as I do.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 pounds of mushrooms, sliced
• 1 small white onion, diced very small
• 4 cups of vegetable broth
• 3-5 sprigs of fresh thyme, plus some chopped for garnish
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• 1/2 cup of dry white wine
• A 4-ish ounce wedge of fresh Brie cheese
• Cornstarch dissolved in cold water, as needed to thicken
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Once it’s melted, add in the garlic, mushrooms, and onion. Saute for about 5-8 minutes, until the onions soften and the mushrooms start to get brown and crispy.
2. Add in the broth, thyme, cream, and wine. Bring it to a boil, then place the wedge of Brie in the middle and cover it in the boiling soup, rind and all.
3. Let the soup continue to boil, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Once the brie is melted, fish out the rind. Remove the whole sprigs of thyme too.
4. Taste test and decide if it is the desired consistency. If you want it a bit thicker, dissolve some cornstarch in cold water (1:1 ratio) and stir it in. Make sure to stir well so it doesn’t clump.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste, then garnish each serving with a pinch of fresh thyme.