Cream of Mushroom Soup

The purchase of sturdy screw top Tupperware cups has opened the possibilities of soups and stews as lunches to take to work. Excellent news in cold, rainy weather.

Serves 4 for lunches with a slice of bread on the side

380g mushrooms, chopped into small pieces
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp plain flour
300ml vegetable stock
300ml milk
2 tbsp cream
1 tbsp lemon juice
black pepper and parsley to taste

1. Melt the butter over a low heat then stir in the flour to make a roux, cook for around 1 min on a very low heat
2. Add the milk and vegetable stock to the pan and turn up the heat
3. Whisk constantly to encourage the roux to dissolve into the liquid and to keep the milk from burning, bring just to the boil then lower the heat again
4. Add the chopped mushrooms, parsley and ground black pepper and let simmer on a low heat for around 10 minutes or until softened
5. Taste and adjust the seasoning before taking off the heat
6. Stir in the lemon juice and cream