Hungarian Mushroom Soup: Silky, Rich, Vegetarian Goodness for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

I was craving Hungarian Mushroom Soup and it has been a while since I made it (over 2 years ago for an early days Souper Sunday back in December 2008). Back then I made a version from a favorite Portland restaurant and their recipe mentioned that it was based on a Moosewood Cookbook recipe. I made note in my post that I would try the Moosewood recipe to compare ... and so a little over two years later here we are. Never let it be said that I lack follow-through! ;-)

This is a rich, velvety soup with a little tangy kick--comfort food in a bowl. I used a combination of white button and brown crimini mushrooms and replaced the milk with coconut milk since I had a box open in the fridge and I am trying to cut down on my overall dairy consumption. I did use regular sour cream though as there is only 1/2 cup for 4-5 servings and it does much for the body of the soup.

You can find this recipe in "The New Moosewood Cookbook" by Mollie Katzen on page 18. (And by the way if I have not previously mentioned my love for Mollie Katzen's genius cooking & recipe-writing talents I highly recommend you buy this book immediately, or any of her many books--I have yet to make a bad recipe from any of them.)


Hungarian Mushroom Soup
"The New Moosewood Cookbook" by Mollie Katzen
(Yield 4-5 Servings)
1 hour to prepare

2 Tbsp butter
2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 to 2 lbs mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp salt
2 to 3 tsp dried dill (or 2 to 3 Tbsp freshly minced)
1 Tbsp mild paprika
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp flour
2 cups water
1 cup milk (can be lowfat) at room temperature
black pepper to taste
1/2 cup sour cream (can be reduced fat variety)
finely minced fresh parsley, for the top

Melt the butter in a kettle or Dutch oven. Add onions, and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, salt, dill and paprika. Stir well and cover. Let cook for about 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in lemon juice.

Gradually sprinkle in the flour, stirring constantly. Cook and stir another 5 minutes or so over medium-low heat. Add water, cover, and cook about 10 minutes, stirring often.

Stir in the milk; add black pepper to taste. Check to see if it needs more salt. Whisk in the sour cream, and heat very gently. Don't boil or cook it after this point. Serve hot, topped with freshly minced parsley.


Notes/Results: Delicious and it certainly hit the spot. This version is a bit more "mushroomy" than the one I tried before with less paprika flavor, but it is equally as good. The base is silky smooth with the textural contrast of the slightly chewy, dense and earthy mushrooms which makes for a very satisfying, indulgent bowl of soup that fills both the stomach and the soul. It can be reheated--just very low and slow. If you like mushrooms, you will love this soup. I know I will happily make it again.




Let's stop by the Souper Sundays kitchen and see who is here this week.

We'll start out with a hearty stew-like dish for the cooler weather some areas have been having, like Debby from A Feast for the Eyes with her Red Wine Braised Short Ribs Stew. She says, "This particular recipe intrigued me, because Chef Keller uses lemongrass and ginger, which adds a whole new layer of aromatics and flavor. Best of all, he made a soup from the leftover short ribs and sauce-- and I did the same thing. Creamy polenta goes perfectly with this dish. You could serve it with mashed potatoes, if you prefer."

Janet of The Taste Space has a healthy Ultimate Winter Couscous to share and says, "At the same time both savoury and sweet, it embodies my favourite aspects of Moroccan cuisine. The base of the vegetable tagine is made of butternut squash, carrots, parsnips and chickpeas and it is pleasantly spiced with cinnamon, ginger, sweet paprika, bay leaves, turmeric and chili flakes. It could be made even hotter with harissa, but I opted to keep it more tame. The sweetness comes from the dried apricots which are simmered in the broth with the spiced vegetables. Couscous is prepared separately, but once combined, you have a good textural contrast."

Julie from Little Bit of Everything made a satisfying crock pot Sweet Potato and Black Bean Soup and says, "I've seen quite a few recipes for soup with black beans and sweet potatoes or butternut squash. With these recipes as inspiration, I created my own recipe. This recipe makes a delicious but very spicy soup. I love the flavor from the addition of just a touch of cinnamon. You could easily add chicken or even some sausage to this soup."

Corina from Searching for Spice put together a "Inspired by Masterchef Scotch Broth" and says, "Last week the Masterchef contestants went to Scotland to cook for the participants in the Highland games. They had to cook outside in tents and had a variety of Scottish produce they could choose to cook with. One of the groups chose to make Scottish Broth and that was my inspiration for this dish. A truly authentic Scotch broth should use lamb on the bone rather than beef. However, on Masterchef they used beef, and as I much prefer beef, that’s what I’ve chosen to use here."

Sweet and Savory from Busy B. Bakes is back at Souper Sundays this week with a creamy Sweet Corn Soup, put together quickly in the microwave and made to round out a delicious dinner that needed a little something more. She says, "This is from the blog Dil Se and I am thrilled with it. It a "comfort food" soup and goes down easily. This is one to make again."

Please join me in welcoming Kim from Incandescent Blue Flame out of North Carolina and making her first appearance at Souper Sundays with this Slow Cooker Turkey Veggie Soup. Kim says, "This soup smells so good while it's cooking. I have a hard time keeping my hands off of it while it's simmering in the slow cooker--a quick taste to make sure it's coming along just right. A cook has to do her duty. ... This is a really thick soup--more like a Rachel Ray "stewp"-- you could certainly eat it with a fork! It would pair well with a side salad or a good crusty bit of bread." Welcome Kim!

Chaya from My Sweet and Savory has a Norwegian Salmon Chowder to share and says, "It is still cold and a warm and filling soup hits the spot. This was a great hit and we finished every drop in the pot. I did find a recipe online but it was written badly and I altered it to such a great degree, I am not going to refer you to it. I did not discover, until I had all my ingredients, lined up, that the recipe was missing most of the directions. It had all these beautiful ingredients but I am not sure what was supposed to happen to them. While, I used the list of ingredients, I created my own recipe."

My pal Joanne from Eats Well With Others made a thick, soupy Kerala-Style Edamame Curry and says, "'I've gotten Vegetarian Times in the mail for at least five months now and this is the first thing I've ever made from it. I closed my eyes, opened the latest issue to a random page, and pointed. Ending up with this curry. That had butternut squash in it. The fates were smiling down on me. This much I know for sure. This curry has a light hint of sweetness from the anise (or fennel. If you are so lucky to have fennel seeds in your spice cabinet. I thought I did. But apparently I don't.) and coconut milk and butternut squash."

Lana of Bibberche needed some comfort from the world and a bowl of soup did the trick. She says, "I needed food solid enough to cling to in this wave of darkness. So I turned to silky, bright orange, sunny, and luscious Butternut Squash Soup, simple and unpretentious, but strong and assertive enough to offer a respite from the harsh world. I won’t pretend that I follow the seasons or weather forecast when planning a meal. I cook according to my heart and the only guides are my emotions. Or my children’s. Or Husband’s. Today I needed sustenance with the power to keep me smiling in spite of the ugliness that shows its face once in a while. I needed a ray of sunshine to dispel the clouds and keep the murky wave we all feel even from here, from taking me too far away."

One salad offering this week, these Spiced Sogrhum Radicchio Bowls from Shri at Tiffin Carrier Antic/que's!. Shri says, "This recipe is a take on the puffed rice, Malar and Aduzuki beans dish served on certain ceremonial occasions in Kerala. Puffed rice is also served to the gods as neivedyam. This recipe happily combines some favourite combinations: Aduki Upperi and Sorghum [ mimicking puffed rice!]. It is also similar to varieties of street food- Chaat. This is not a make-ahead dish but is easy to put together and submits to several variations according to one's fancy!"

And one sandwich full of spice, this Chicken Shawarma from Ayeesha from Taste of Pearl City. She says, "If you haven't come across this word Shawarma in your life, here is the explanation for that. Shawarma is a type of sandwich made with meat and salad. The special element in this sandwich is the meat, the way how it is prepared. Seasoned meat and fat layers are stacked and keep turning around the heat, which is then sliced from the outer and made as stuffing for sandwich along with salad."

And that is our delicious Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays round up for this week--a little something for everyone. Thanks to all who joined in. If you have a soup, salad or sandwich that you would like to share, just click on the Souper Sundays logo on the side bar for all of the details.

Have a healthy, happy week!