I love Hungary. Such a beautiful country with wonderful people and delicious food. Budapest is an amazing city. That stunning bridge crossing the Danube, the Fisherman’s Warf, the markets, the classic Viennese-influenced architecture… I think it’s one of the most beautiful cities in Eastern Europe, if not the most. Most people seem to emphasize Prague and it is a tourist hot spot in Eastern Europe. But while Prague is a gorgeous city, I prefer Budapest hands down.
We’re definitely going to get to more Hungarian cuisine in the future, but for now let me introduce you to something I just made that was absolutely delicious! A heavily Hungarian-influenced mushroom soup.
This soup is positively delightful! Onions and cremini mushrooms are caramelized in butter. A separate rich roux is made with butter and flour (this adds a world of depth and flavor to the soup). A heap of paprika is then thrown in along with the delicate flavor of dill and a variety of other ingredients that combine to make this a guaranteed hit at your dinner table!
This is a stunningly rich and satisfying soup. And it’s also incredibly delicious as a creamy sauce over egg noodles. Try it both ways! Either way, it’s a winner.
Try this delicious variation: Hungarian Mushroom Pasta
Now let’s get to that Hungarian Mushroom Soup Recipe!
- 2 tablespoons butter (vegan substitute: vegetable spread, like Earth Balance)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 12 oz mushrooms (cremini or white button mushrooms, chopped)
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 4 teaspoons fresh dill, chopped or 2 teaspoons dried dill
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoons black pepper
- 3 tablespoons butter (vegan substitute: vegetable spread, like Earth Balance)
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup milk (vegan: use soy or hemp milk)
- 2 cups beef broth (vegan: use vegetable broth)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (Note: You cannot taste the soy sauce in this but it's just enough to contribute a wonderful "umami effect" that you'll love!)
- ½ cup sour cream (vegan: use vegan sour cream)
- Parsley, chopped, for garnish
- Extra sour cream, for garnish
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in small pan. Saute the onions until translucent and just barely beginning to brown. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 5 minutes until the mushrooms release their juices. Add the paprika, dill, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a Dutch oven, melt 3 tablespoons of butter and stir in the flour, constantly whisking for several minutes until the mixture is a rich, caramelized brown. Add the milk, broth, and soy sauce, still whisking until the mixture is smooth. Add the mushroom mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the sour cream, simmer for another 2 minutes. Serve immediately with chopped parsley. Add a dollop of sour cream to each bowl if desired.
- Served with crusty bread.
Looks really yummy, and I LOVE mushrooms so, I will definitely try this one.
Thanks, Jeanie! Hope you enjoy it! Let me know how it turns out for you.
I made it tonight. We loved it! So good, buttery and warming on a cold winters night.
I’m so glad you all liked it! As noted in my post, it’s really good made a little thicker and used as a sauce over egg noodles as well. In any case, I’m happy to have been able to add a little warmth to your cold winter’s night 🙂
This looks delicious! I would love to try to veganize this recipe.
Thanks, Lindsay. Veganizing would be a breeze. I would substitute organic canola oil for the butter (I love cooking with extra virgin olive oil, but the taste may end up dominating this particular soup), vegetable broth for the beef broth, non-dairy sour cream, and either hemp or rice milk (rice milk is very thin – if using that I would recommend increasing the amount of non-dairy sour cream to make for a more creamy consistency. This soup lends easily lends itself to a vegan version and will still taste perfectly yummy!
Thanks, Lindsay! Veganizing this recipe would be a breeze! I would substitute organic canola oil for the butter (I love cooking with olive and coconut oils, but those flavors would most likely dominate this particular soup too much), vegetable broth for the beef broth, non-dairy sour cream, and hemp milk. Other milk substitutes, like rice milk, are much thinner in consistency. If using rice milk I would increase the amount of non-dairy sour cream to make for a creamier consistency. In any case, this soup lends itself easily to a vegan version and will still taste absolutely yummy! Thanks for stopping by!
Made it last night and it was wonderful….Happy group! Next time Ill try it over egg noodles…but as a soup…I loved it (oh…used the vegi broth instead of Beef broth and it was still great!
Thank you, Pam, so glad you liked it!
In this cold, winter weather this soup hits the spot! Thanks for sharing such a tasty recipe!
-Shannon
You are most welcome and thanks for giving it a try!
Why on earth would you put soya suce in a Hungarian influenced mushroom soup?
Neither soya sauce, nor butter have much to do with traditional Hungarian cooking, This is the second Hungarian mushroom soup recipe I find in which soya sauce is given as an ingredient. Skip the soya sauce, but use more galrlic, add savory and thyme.
Broth is also totally unnecessary…again, most recipes seem to add some sort of broth to mushroom soups. Use porcini and other forest mushrooms to enhance the flavour, not broth cubes and the like…
Otherwise it sounds and looks okay 🙂
To make it a real winter treat: include some smoked bacon or ham. Hungarians love to put stuff like that into their rustic foods.
Boletus, there’s a simple explanation: Because it tastes great that way! Make it as written and you’ll agree. It’s been a common movement in the world of cooking for years to blend culinary influences to achieve wonderful results. And using broth has been an even longer practice, especially when the soup is vegetarian and doesn’t have the flavor that would otherwise come from browning meat or frying bacon. On the point about bacon I agree with you whole-heartedly, there are few dishes that wouldn’t benefit from the inclusion of bacon – it’s a simply marvelous creation! The same is true of butter. And porcini mushrooms…yes! I’m a huge fan of adding some ground porcini to mushroom soups and sauces for flavor and several of my recipes do just that. They add such a fabulous flavor!
Hi Kimberley,
I am aware of globalization affecting the way people cook and the ingredients they use and while “fusion cooking” is trendy and intreresting, I feel it is all the more important to really know the roots and to bring out the best from the authentic recipes with the use of limited “indigenous” ingredients. Yeah, I know, Hungarians would never have created their emblematic stews without the famous paprika, which was introduced to Europe from the Americas, but in our times it’s really worthwhile to try to taste and learn to appreciate more simple and well defined dishes connected to different regions of the world.
Broth: yes, I know about this practice, sometimes use it myself ( though no cubes) but a really good mushroom soup will not really need this additive, Maybe I’m a purist but it is especially the trends brought about by fusion cooking that makes me one.
Footnote: On the other hand I do put mushrooms esp. porcini in the beef soup I make 🙂
BTW I am Hungarian, live in Budapest and think that your website hosts a wonderful range of recipes.
We think alike in many ways, Boletus. My biggest passion is ethnic cuisine and while I develop many recipes that have world influences, I also develop ones that are strictly authentic (in those case, and in only those cases, will I make the claim of authenticity). I couldn’t agree more with you that sometimes it’s the simplest recipes that taste best, preparing the ingredients thoughtfully in such a way to bring out their full, pure flavors. By the way, I’ve visited Hungary several times, love the country and its people (Budapest is one of my most favorite cities) and Hungarian cuisine ranks among my favorites. I appreciate your thoughts and hope you’ll visit again. Kind regards, Kimberly
Yes, I read that you’ve been visiting Hungary. The country info with the account of your personal impressions given in the introduction to your goulash soup recipe is quite touching and surely much appreciated by any Hungarian reading it. I see that you perhaps tend to adapt the recipes of ethnic foods a bit to suit the American taste (eg. butter instead of lard) and there is nothing wrong with that,it happens to recipes all the time, as they travel around the globe, it’s basically logical. While I might shudder at the thought of adding soya sauce to any Hungarian dish, it is true that one of the biggest joys of cooking is to experiment with different ingredients and new flavour combinations.I did note that the intro to the mushroom soup recipe said that the soup is Hungarian INFLUENCED (ie.not authentic Hungarian), so nothing misleading there either.
Best wishes from Budapest: Imre (aka Boletus, at least on the Daring Gourmet website 🙂
I made this for Thanksgiving! It was such a hit I am glad I saved some for myself. The flavor, the texture, everything about this soup is sublime. A keeper? Oh yes, that’s a no brainer! Thank you so much.
So thrilled you made and enjoyed this, Global7! It’s one of our favorites. Thanks so much for your feedback!
I’m half Hungarian, and I have made this soup for years, but no soya sauce!~ I also use chicken broths and a roux of butter and flour. Don’t use garlic because I think it might overwhelm the delicate soup.
Jane-Elizabeth
Hi Jane-Elizabeth! Contrary to what a lot of people may think, the soy sauce doesn’t add an “Asian” flavor. It’s simply a source of salt that adds some additional depth. This soup is made with a butter and flour roux as well and it’s whisked to a nice caramelized brown and then beef broth is added, so this version isn’t a delicate soup per say – it’s a very rich soup with a lot of depth of flavor and the garlic further enhances it. But absolutely, it you prefer to leave it out it will still taste fabulous.
What kind of ass adds soy sauce to anything Hungarian…call it anything but Hungarian
The same kind that evidently has more class and a better grip on vocabulary than have to resort to juvenile language. Cheers.
Made this today and it was a treat! Used soy and almond milk instead of dairy and oregano instead of dill since it was all I had to hand, and cut the soy sauce, but it came out really great. Have been wanted to try something like this since I visited Budapest, the food I had there was so, so, good.
Awesome, Molly! I know, Hungarian food is so good. If you click on the recipes tab on my menu bar you can search by country – I have a few Hungarian recipes you may be interested in.
Was looking for a nice soup recipe to go with my dill and onion bread I have rising and I think I’ve found it! Looks delicious x
Ooh, Sarah, that sounds perfect! Wish I were dining with you today! 🙂
Your recipe made some subtle but nice changes with the original in Moosewood Cookbook: You sauté the mushrooms, too, before adding stock, you double the spices and add garlic. And, you make a darker Cajun-style roux (rather than a blond roux). I LOLd thinking “this blogger muse from the south and just couldn’t help herself.” 🙂 Joking aside, it makes sense since the spices are sort of vaguely gumbo-ish… . You also leave out the lemon, which, again, makes sense since the sour cream already adds sour. These are both very good recipes!
Thanks, Jonathan! I’ve never seen the Moosewood version but I’m happy to hear you approve of mine 🙂 Ha, I’m not from the South but love the region and the food. Thanks again for the compliment, I appreciate it!
My favorite dish!! It is delicious and easy to follow the recipe. My family and I are vegan and we invite friends over and everyone wanted the recipe because it was just so darn good;)
Wonderful, Chavva! Thank you so much for the feedback and I’m happy to hear that you and your loved ones enjoy this as much as we do!
What a lovely base soup! It had all of the flavors that I was looking for! I’ve been on a soup kick…all of the cold weather!! I used the lovely leftover stock and onions from last night’s French onion. Truthfully, I used my favorite fish sauce in place of soy. I use that in place of salt in almost every soup or stew…no, it does not taste like fish if you add during the cooking process. Half of my family is German. I will never meet another person who makes their rouladen the same (outside of my family), the same can be said of every Italian family’s sauce. If it doesn’t sound like the recipe you are looking for, just move on to the next one. Life is too short!!! Thank you for the lovely recipe! Cheers-Kelly
Awesome, Kelly, I’m so glad you liked this soup, thank you! And I agree with your other comments!
This was over the top delicious, the best mushroom soup we have ever had. Strongly recommend!!
Wonderful, I’m so happy you enjoyed this, Carol, thank you!
Oh boy, this sounds delightful. I’ll try this for my annual Bela Lugosi birthday celebration.
Stephanie, this soup is just downright awesome, you and your guests will love it! (And that sounds like an incredibly intriguing annual celebration 😉
Just made this and it is delicious!
Thank you, Kathryn, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Soup came out lovely. However I did make a few adjustments, there’s no need for soy sauce as traditional Hungarian mushroom soups do not need it. If it’s flavor you want adding more paprika along with dill adds nice flavor without that extra sodium. I added more pepper as well and didn’t use too much salt. I recommend pink hemalayian salt. It’s twice the flavor of your typical sea salt so not much is needed. I also added some cream and chose to use cornstarch instead of flour because cornstarch creates a creamier texture and blends better than flour. Spices are your friend don’t be afraid to use them to create a desired flavor!
Hi Kayla, I’m so glad you enjoyed this – thank you! A few comments on your substitutions: 1) Soy Sauce: Its purpose is for a umami effect that you cannot achieve through paprika or dill. Plus there’s so little of it that it hardly impacts the overall sodium content of the soup. 2) Pink Himalayan salt: This is such a controversial product and has been found to contains a TON of sand which is a bad idea for your digestive system. Google it and you’ll find the info. 3) The role of the flour isn’t for texture, it’s for flavor, and its role us HUGE. The method of using it here is what the French call making a “roux”. It’s not simply adding flour and then liquid, you caramelize the flour into a rich brown roux and the flavor is amazing. That’s the method used to make the best of the best beef stews, for example. Really, the next time you make this I encourage you to use the flour and make the roux, it adds 100% more flavor to the soup.
All that said, in the end all that matters is that it tastes great to you, but I wanted to point out the reasoning behind the ingredients and methods used.
I think I’d rather try Maggi over just soy – more European that way.