Hungarian Mushroom Soup

It's fall again and soup season has begun!

When I was in my teens, there was a tiny cafe called Rae's place in Sperryville which was truly special. Warm, welcoming locals with a hippie vibe serving fresh homemade tasting soups and sandwiches. The kind of place that has quirky salt and pepper shakers, different ones on every table, and sold flax cereal before it was super trendy. I have fond memories of going there with my first boyfriend, Jason, and sharing a soup and a sandwich with a pineapple gingerbeer as refreshment. This is where I first tried Hungarian mushroom soup, and boy was it memorable. So flavorful and creamy, I was in love. Paired with their classic sandwhich "The Five Easy Pieces" - a halved pita pocket stuffed with shredded carrots, proper green lettuce (possibly romaine, but definitely not iceburg), some kind of mild shredded white cheese (jack maybe?) and Rae's signature tahini dressing and I was in heaven. If only I could get my hands on that dressing recipe. All I know is it had lovely notes dill and herbs, lemon juice and plenty of sesame paste, possibly yogurt and a few drops of soy sauce. For those of you who still eat pita, try and make this and tell me if you have any success with a dressing! Rae eventually got a bigger place, and my brother even worked there for a time,  but never learned the dressing recipe and if he knew her soup recipe he never told me. But here is my version, more or less, although I don't really measure when I make it. It is excellent.

• 4 Tbsp butter (more or less as desired, I find I sometimes use more, up to a whole stick! Mike, this note is for you: I just a read a variation that calls for bacon fat.)
• 1 large onion, chopped, or about 2 cups
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (more or less as desired, or omit)
• 2 Tbsp. paprika, Hungarian if you can find it, a crucial ingredient
• about 1 to 2 lbs mushrooms, sliced or halved and sliced if large - I usually just use baby bella or cremini, but if you can easily get more wild varieties, try some of those too. Last time I did about 1/3 shitakes and that was wonderful. If you have some dried mushrooms, go ahead and add some in, in addition to your fresh.
• about 3-5 cups broth, but I am not at all sure and it depends a bit on if you use a lot of mushrooms or not and how long you cook them down for. I use vegetable but mushroom would be best if you can find it. I have never tried it with a meat broth, but if you want, try it.
• about 1 cup milk, half and half, or cream depending on how rich your tastes are
• 1/2 to 1 cup of sour cream, again depending on how rich your tastes are
• 1-2 tsp dried dill or more preferably a handful or so of chopped fresh dill, another crucial ingredient
• salt and pepper
• Note: I am seeing that some popular recipes call for a little soy sauce, lemon juice, and parsley and if you taste your soup and the end and think these would improve it, do try

1. In a heavy bottomed soup pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add your chopped onions and sauté for about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and the paprika and dried dill if using. Cook for another minute or two.
2. Now add your sliced mushrooms. You may want to add a little water so they don't stick at first, and keep stirring regularly. I usually turn the heat up to medium high. Let them cook down, so most of the mushroom water evaporates, about 10-15 minutes. Then keep cooking until they begin to brown some, adjusting heat as needed and stirring often. It shouldn't be a very quick process. I prefer them browned, I think this adds a lot of flavor, but you don't have to. To make it quicker, just cook a little longer after the initial 10-15 minutes, but not until browned.
3. Add your broth and bring to a boil. Remember you are adding milk and sour cream too, so use your best judgement on amount. I guess it also depends on how thick you like your soups. I omit the common flour thickener so keep this in mind, too. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes to about 45 or longer even. The longer it cooks the more the flavors will meld.
4. When it has cooked until you don't feeling like waiting any longer, turn the heat to low and stir in the fresh dill if using, milk/half and half/cream and the sour cream and gently heat but do not boil, about 5 minutes.
5. Taste and add some salt if needed, pepper, and lemon juice, soy sauce, and/or fresh parsley if desired.

All done. Delicious.