Hungarian mushroom soup

Over the last decade or so, I have become very much a soup aficionado. Not that I did not eat soups before – even beyond borsch, various soups and broths are an essential component of East European cuisine. But it is only in fairly recent years that I started finding myself unable to refrain from ordering a soup when everyone else orders an appetizer, from having a soup-and-sandwich lunch more often than not, and then from having a bowl of soup at dinner at home as well.

The rest of the family shares my affinity, Becky especially (Kimmy is considerably more picky in what she eats, but she is known to wolf down a couple of bowls of her favorite bouillon or some such in a single seating).

Natasha is always happy to oblige, often experimenting with the recipes to create something different from what we tried before. The other day, she produced this fantastic Hungarian mushroom soup. I only got one portion – the growing organisms a.k.a. children consumed the rest.

Makes 6 portions

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 2 teaspoons dried or fresh finely chopped dill
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2-3 cups chicken broth (if you like it thick, use the smaller number)
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup sour cream (depends on you liking)

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onions in the butter for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 more minutes. Stir in the dill, paprika, soy sauce and broth. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. In a separate small bowl, whisk the milk and flour together. Pour this into the soup and stir well to blend. Cover and simmer for 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Finally, stir in the salt, ground black pepper, lemon juice, parsley and sour cream. Mix together and allow to heat through over low heat, about 3 to 5 minutes. Do not boil. Serve immediately.

You can add sour cream individually to the plate just before you serve, and garnish soup with either dill or chives.

This is a very rich dish, so if you want to reduce your calories, use low-fat milk and low-fat sour cream!
Enjoy!