Mushroom cappuccino from Vegetables Unleashed and the power of creativity.

Mushroom Cappuccino

Between his cookbooks and the PBS series Made in Spain, it’s not difficult to find mentions of the brothers Adrià in José Andrés’s work, and Vegetables Unleashed is no different. Whether it was a technique he learned during his time there or a whole dish he recreates, Andrés is always conscientious to give credit where credit is due, and it’s one small item on a very long list of characteristics of why he’s one of our world’s best humans. 

In Vegetables Unleashed, those tributes are in the form of Albert Adrià’s tomato tartare and Ferran’s mushroom cappuccino. While the former will have to wait for the summer to make again, thankfully the latter is something that can be made in these early days of winter, but absolutely should. 

What’s great about this recipe is that it doesn’t require any sort of obscure equipment or ingredients; all you need is a regular blender or food processor and, ideally, an immersion blender to generate the froth. The recipe itself could not be more straightforward as it’s a fairly basic mushroom soup recipe that’s incredibly flavorful for how simple it is. (It proves the food axiom that simple is not equivalent to easy.) The creativity comes in how the soup is plated, and the presentation of the mushroom, onion, and garlic paste as a sort of garnish. This is a big part of Adria’s creative process, as he felt that the sixth sense used when eating something was one’s intelligence between evoking memories, prior knowledge, and the emotions that are present while engaging with the dish itself.* You can see this at work during the dinner at El Bulli in Decoding Ferran Adrià as an initially-skeptical Anthony Bourdain is completely and utterly seduced by each subsequent dish placed in front of him over the course of the meal. By the end of it, he is a bonafide Adrià stan, confounded, delighted, and in awe of everything that he has enjoyed.

While this dish alone will not give you the full El Bulli experience, it will engage you in ways you would not expect otherwise, and it would serve as the perfect starter to a multi-course meal. You can even make it ahead of time and simply reheat it and froth it before serving; just be sure to store the soup separately from the mushroom mixture and give the latter a quick run through the microwave to warm it through, and you’ll be good to go.

Mushroom cappuccino

Lightly adapted from Vegetables Unleashed by José Andrés

Serves 2-3, can be doubled

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 small or ½ medium sweet onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 12 ounces button mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed and roughly chopped
• Kosher salt
• 2 ½ cups water (plus extra if needed)
• ¾ cup heavy cream
• 1 sprig thyme
• Finely ground coffee, for garnish

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened and lightly golden, for about 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms, season with salt, and bring the heat to high and cook until they are lightly browned, about 12-15 minutes. If the pan starts to get brown, add a small splash of water to help break it up.

Add the water, cream, and thyme; bring the pot to a boil, and then lower to a simmer to let the liquid reduce by half, which will take about 40 minutes. Remove the thyme sprig (don’t worry if the leaves have fallen off of it), transfer the soup to a blender or food processor, and pulse for about 12-15 times to aerate the soup and also finely chop the mushrooms. (Let the soup cool while doing this, as otherwise, things will get messy.) Strain the soup into a bowl, reserving the chopped mushroom mixture, and place the liquid back into a clean saucepan. Reheat the soup, and when ready to serve, use either a blender or (ideally) an immersion blender to froth the soup–if using the latter, keep the blender as close to the surface as possible and tip the saucepan to aerate the soup as much as possible. For serving, divide the soup into small coffee cups, and serve with a pinch of ground coffee and a spoon with the mushroom mixture, if desired. (Don’t overload the spoon if you want to balance it on the cup because it will fall over.) Serve immediately.

*Source: the exhibition catalog for Ferran Adria: Notes on Creativity at The Drawing Center in New York City, on view from January 25-February 28, 2014