Hungarian Mushroom Soup

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes for fall! There used to be a vegetarian/vegan restaurant in N. Portland in the 90’s called Old Wives Tales – back before they were EVERYWHERE in Portland! They made the most amazing mushroom soup. My friends and I would make the trek weekly from suburbia land to pig out at their locally-sourced salad bar and eat vats of this soup. I don’t know if my recipe is as good as theirs, but we still fight each other to eat it around here… in fact! I had to chase off my husband and daughter TWICE while making it this morning – lol!!

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups onions, finely chopped
2 Tbsp butter
1 lb mushrooms, sliced (I like to mix button, crimini, & oyster)
2 Tbsp fresh dill weed, finely chopped (if using dried, reduce to 2 tsp)
2 tsp sweet paprika
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp salt
2 cups veggie or beef stock
1/2 cup dry white wine (pinot gris, optional)
3 Tbsp flour*
1 cup milk
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup sour cream

In a heavy pot, sauté the onions in olive oil over medium-low heat until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Then add the sliced mushrooms and butter, sauté for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the dill, thyme, paprika, stock, soy sauce and white wine. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook until the liquid reduces by half (about 15 mins).

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the flour into the milk until smooth. Add the flour-milk mixture to the soup and cook until the soup begins to thicken, about 10 more minutes.

Turn the heat down to low and slowly stir in the sour cream and lemon juice. Garnish the soup with parsley and serve hot with some crusty, toasted bread.

* This recipe can be done gluten free and/or dairy free! I usually skim off a portion for my GF/DF mom right before I put any of the thickeners in. At that point it is a clear, but still very delicious, soup. If you want to approximate the thickness of the original , you can use tapioca, corn, or potato starch with lactose-free milk + sour cream. If you want to use coconut milk instead, that is also delicious. The dill and paprika flavors are very strong and will stand up to any substitutions you need to make.