Hungarian Mushroom Soup - Mushroom Festival - Outdoor Wednesday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...We've attended the mushroom festival at our local arboretum for ten years now. Bob's first observations of the event led him to conclude it wasn't a venue where the Junior League was likely to meet and greet. I'm not so sure. I suspect they had an understated presence and were peppered throughout the crowd of academics, students and farmers or could be found wandering alongside those who buy and sell mushrooms. Yes, there still are folks who supplement their incomes hunting mushrooms and, while it may not be politically correct, they call themselves hoobie hunters - swear to God. While the event is enormous fun, it's primary purpose is to teach and provide an opportunity for mycologists and mushroom lovers to socialize. Once prizes have been awarded, they do just that. The weather, almost always damp, chills the bones and causes sensible folks to question the sanity of those who traipse through the woods on the the mycological equivalent of a treasure hunt. The day is filled with food and music and good family fun, including a scarecrow competition for the children. Photos of some of their entries appear at the bottom of this post. The children come bundled head to toe, wearing muffs and gloves and "wellies" to keep the chill at bay. I spend as much time as possible with the chefs and cooks and food purveyors who set up shop for the day. Everything they sell must be mushroom based and it's really interesting to see what they come up with. I have a series of recipes that I'll be sharing with you over the next few weeks, but I wanted to start with this soup because it's so easy to do. I had a version of this as a child. Back then the onions and mushrooms were cooked in bacon drippings and the soup had enormous layered flavor. Alas, we no longer use bacon drippings, but there was a time when every kitchen had a container to hold them. I know some of you remember that, but I won't force you to fess up. Having said how wonderful this is made with bacon, today's recipe uses butter in its place. It's almost as good and it's marginally better for you. This soup comes from the steppes of Hungary and it's laced with sweet rose paprika. If you enjoy heat, and know your tolerance, hot Hungarian paprika can be substituted.

Hungarian Mushroom Soup...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh mixed mushrooms (Shiitake, Maitake, Oyster etc.) or 1 pound fresh crimini mushrooms
2 cups chopped onions
4 tablespoons butter, divided use
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon fresh dill fronds or 1 teaspoon dill weed
1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon Tamari or soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock, divided use
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
1) Using a large skillet, saute onion in 2 tablespoons butter until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, dill, 1/2 cup stock, tamari and paprika. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes.
2) Melt reserved 2 tablespoons butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly, for two to three minutes. Add milk, stirring frequently over low heat until thick, about 10 minutes. Stir in mushroom mixture and remaining 1-1/2 cups stock. Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes. Just before serving add salt and pepper to taste; stir in lemon juice, sour cream and, if desired, additional dill. Garnish with parsley. Yield: 4 servings.

This is being linked to:

Outdoor Wednesday, an event sponsored by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.

Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

You are in for a treat if you hear the siren's song and actually try this recipe. Here in the Pacific Northwest we have access to some absolutely incredible ingredients; wild rice, grown locally in the Willamette Valley, and wild mushrooms, free for the picking in the BLM forests surrounding us, are among them. This is not your Mama's mushroom soup. The recipe was developed by Caprial Pence who has a unique ability to transfer the flavors of the Pacific Northwest from head to pot to table with deft surety. I have made a few changes to the recipe and I do want to add a caution for those who decide to make this. The caution - red wine; it can produce a soup with wonderful depth of flavor but the color leaves something to be desired. You might want to substitute a dry white wine for the red or simmer the mushrooms until the red wine has nearly disappeared. Pence uses a lot of wine in her recipes (it's another locally available ingredient) and she uses the good stuff. I'm a "two buck Chuck" gal (for cooking anyway), so I have to be a little more careful and make sure that the wine is reduced until nearly evaporated. I love to serve this with an endive salad and fresh bread on a rainy night. I justify it's extravagance with the argument that wild rice (actually a grain producing grass) is high in fiber, low in sugar and contains no saturated or trans fats. If I'm still feeling guilty I bolster my argument with its protein content - it contains up to 50% more protein than white rice. If you're poor as a church mouse and can't continence such extravagance, use brown rice and swap criminis for the wild mushrooms. You'll have an equally delicious and reasonable facsimile. Give this one a try!

Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:
Rice:
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 cup wild rice
3 cups chicken stock
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Mushroom Soup:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups sliced button mushrooms
3 cups sliced wild mushrooms
2 cups red wine
3 potatoes, peeled and diced
6 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons dried mushroom powder (optional, see Cook's Note below)
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (i.e. Tabasco)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1) To prepare the rice, heat the oil in a saucepan over high heat. Add the garlic and shallot and sauté one minute. Add the rice and sauté 1 to 2 minutes. Add the stock and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover, decrease the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 40 minutes, or until tender.
2) Heat the remainder of the olive oil in a stockpot over high heat until very hot. Add the onion and garlic and lightly sauté for about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the red wine and reduce until about 1/2 cup of liquid remains. Add the potatoes and stock and cook until the potatoes are very tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
3) Puree the soup with an immersion blender, or in batches in the bowl of a food processor or in a blender, and then return the soup to the stock pot. Add the cream, rosemary, and thyme and cook for about 15 minutes. Add the rice and hot pepper sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 6 servings.

Cook's Note: To make mushroom powder, preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Spread the contents of a 1-1/2-ounce package of dried mushrooms (porcini if possible) on a baking sheet and bake in the oven until completely dried, about 12 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool and grind in a spice mill until you have a fine powder. Store in a jar for up to six months.