Here’s another winning recipe from my friend Greta Zalman. She said she got it from a website called Polska Foods. The last time I cooked this I used one pound of mushrooms, 1 large-ish onion, 2 small celery stalks, and reduced the other ingredients proportionately, and it made four generous servings. Also feel free to use regular white mushrooms instead of the brown ones.
Ingredients:
3 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1½ lb. brown mushrooms, sliced
2 yellow onions, finely chopped
2 large celery stalks, diced
3 or 4 garlic cloves
1 leek (optional)
2-3 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
4 Tbs. dry sherry
5 Tbs. all-purpose flour
5 – 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Dash of Tabasco
2 tsp. sea salt (or to taste)
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup heavy cream (or 3/4 cup sour cream, or 3/4 cup plain yogurt)
Garnish: 1 tablespoon fresh dill or parsley, minced
Directions:
Clean and slice mushrooms. Heat butter and olive oil till butter is melted. Add the onion, celery, garlic, and leek and stir until slightly softened; do not brown.
Raise the heat to medium high and add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook 8 minutes until they are golden brown, stirring frequently.
Reduce heat and add thyme, bay leaf, dry sherry, and flour, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan for 5-8 minutes. (It may not take this long; be careful not to burn the flour.) Add the stock slowly, stirring to keep it smooth, and the rest of the ingredients, except the cream (or yogurt).
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer until slightly thickened for 30 minutes or until mushrooms and vegetables are tender.
Optional: With a hand blender, blend ingredients to puree the soup. (I don’t do this, I like the mushrooms in slices.)
Remove the pot from heat and serve. Or, keep on low heat and add heavy cream (or sour cream / yogurt) to make a creamy mushroom soup. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding a few drops of lemon juice if desired. Cook for another 5 to 7 minutes.
Ladle into warm bowls and garnish with fresh dill or parsley.
Serves 6
Bobbie's Best Recipes 