Creamy Fresh Mushroom Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound button mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and chopped or sliced

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Small pinch ground nutmeg

3 cups lower-sodium, fat-free chicken broth

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons dry sherry or cognac (may be omitted)

2 cups nonfat sour cream, room temperature

1 cup lower-sodium, fat-free chicken broth

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Place a heavy-bottomed, non-aluminum 4-quart (or larger) saucepan over medium heat. When the saucepan is hot (about 3 minutes), add the olive oil and swirl around the bottom. When the oil shimmers, add the mushrooms and saute for 3 minutes, until they begin to give up their liquid. Add the cayenne pepper and nutmeg and saute for 30 seconds, or until the mixture becomes fragrant. Stir in the chicken broth and salt. Bring to a simmer, lower the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the soup simmers, add sour cream, 1-cup chicken broth and flour to a medium glass or stainless steel mixing bowl. Whisk until combined. Set aside.

Whisk the sherry or cognac into the soup. Ladle 1 cup of the hot mushroom broth into the sour cream mixture, whisking to combine. Pour the sour cream mixture into the soup saucepan, whisk to combine, reduce heat to low and cook until just hot (do not bring to a simmer or boil). Remove the saucepan from the heat and ladle the soup into serving bowls. Garnish each serving with the parsley. Serve immediately.

Serves six (11/4 cups each).

Cook's note: You can use a mix of buttons, baby bellas and/or shiitakes (remove tough stems). If the soup is too thick, thin with additional chicken broth.

@Recipe nutrition:Nutrition values per serving: 159 calories (14.5 percent from fat), 2.6 g fat (0.3 g saturated fat), 23.7 g carbohydrate, 0.8 g fiber, 7 g protein, 11 mg cholesterol, 725 mg sodium.

SaltSense: Omitting the added salt reduces sodium per serving to 338 mg.