June 09, 2010

Hungary?


I dont really even know what to say about hungarian mushroom soup. I dont have any good stories about it. Its simple and quite lovely, but i dont see it served at restaurants too often. I dont even remember where or when i first tried it. There is a restaurant here in portland that has made a name on it, but i was less than impressed, and on the whole, have nothing nice at all to say about the place, so i'll move on. I guess one thing i should note is that by no means do i claim to be an expert on this dish. I dont know how it's traditionally made, or for that matter, how popular it even is in hungary. I did do an internet search, admittedly a rather brief one, to see if i could find some interesting history of the soup, some obviously authentic recipe, some piece of information worth sharing, but nothing really stood out. I plan to research this more in depth, as i myself am now curious how the soup may differ were it actually served to me in hungary, but for now i will settle with not knowing. If you are privy to this knowledge, please do share. For the moment i will entertain the mystery, and just tell you how i do it.


hungarian mushroom soup

ingredients

garlic, minced
yellow onion, diced
lots of mushrooms, sliced (white, crimini or a mix)
butter
stock (i use veggie, you could use chicken if you like)
sour cream
flour
salt, pepper, dill, hungarian paprika

Saute garlic and onion in butter. Add mushrooms and cook until they begin to soften. Add more butter or some olive oil if the mushrooms seem too dry. Remove from the heat and add a healthy portion of paprika. You are going to want to put more than may be your natural instinct. At least a tbls, maybe more. Return pot to the heat for a few seconds and add stock. Add pepper and dill, and bring to a boil. Salt and lower to a simmer. Remove a little broth and whisk it in a cup with a spoonful or two of flour until smooth. Add to the soup. You may adjust the amount of flour depending on how thick you want your soup; i tend to keep mine relatively brothy. Whisk in half a cup or more of sour cream. (For a slightly richer soup, you may also add some heavy whipping cream). Adjust spices to taste. Simmer until desired thickness. Top with another dollop of sour cream and a fresh sprinkling of dill. Enjoy with a few slices of hearty, crusty bread.