Taste of Community

Chicago Botanic Garden,
Main Campus

Alex Schneider, Gomba Leves

Chicago Botanic Garden

hungarian mushroom soup

Overview

Taste of Community Programs

1. Chicago Botanic Garden,
Main Campus​

Community Stories and Recipes

2. Faith in Place​

3. Garfield Park Conservatory

4. Little Village Environmental Justice Organization​

5. National Museum of Mexican Art

6. Northern Suburban Special Recreation Association​

7. PCC Austin Family Health Center​

8. Chicago Botanic Garden,
Farm on Ogden Campus

 

For me, preparing a meal for others is always a stressful joy.

For me, preparing a meal for others is always a stressful joy. Stressful because I inevitably need to multiply ingredients to the nth degree and math is not my forte; stressful because I always forget one key ingredient at the store and need to rush back at the 11th hour; stressful because I, of course, want people to like what I make, and not make me second and third-guess why I didn’t just grab a rotisserie chicken from Costco like I originally was tempted to do. But ultimately, the stress is outweighed by the joy that comes from sharing a part of myself by cooking for others and nine times out of ten hearing them make, as Gene Wilder so eloquently stated in Young Frankenstein, a “yummy sound.” ​

When thinking about what to make for this particular experience, I knew it was important to share a part of my culinary heritage that doesn’t get too much limelight. I don’t talk a great deal about my family’s Hungarian roots, mostly because as an English, Scottish, Irish, Danish, French, Russian, German, and Hungarian individual, there really isn’t one identity that rises to the surface in majority. However, there are parts of my background that haven’t been as celebrated or as understood, by myself or others. My family were Jewish haberdashers in Budapest who, reading the sociopolitical signs, decided to take a long vacation to America during the interwar period. At least, most of them did. But in commemoration of the few who didn’t make it out, I decided I wanted to make something that they might have shared at their table.

Thus, I returned to the one Hungarian recipe I knew and loved—something that wasn’t goulash or borscht. Gomba leves has several of the classic Hungarian staples: paprika, dill, sour cream…and more paprika. It’s vegetarian, but still quite hearty. It has some sweetness to it, some spice, and a richness that only an unseemly amount of sour cream can create (have mercy on my poor, lactose-intolerant soul).

What follows is an adaptation from a Girl Cooks World recipe, the original form of which I include here. Gomba Leves - Hungarian Mushroom Soup (girlcooksworld.com)

Gomba Leves/Hungarian Mushroom Soup (Alex’s version)

Yield: 4 meal servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

A generous shake of onion powder (approx. 2 teaspoons)

2 pounds mushrooms sliced (I like baby bellas)

4 to 5 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh dill, plus extra for garnish

4 teaspoons paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika (you can adjust this if it isn’t your favorite flavor but personally I love it)

Juice from 1/2 lemon 

2 cups beef, chicken, or vegetable broth

2 cups room temperature sour cream, plus extra for garnish (you can also use one cup milk and one cup sour cream)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

4 tablespoons water

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add sliced mushrooms and onion powder, along with dill and paprika. Stir until well combined, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. A lot of moisture will come out of the mushrooms at this point, creating a nice umami base for your soup. Add the lemon juice and mix well.

Add the broth, cover, and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to low. Whisk in the sour cream (and/or milk) and stir until combined. Heat gently until the soup is hot. Make a cornstarch slurry with the cornstarch and water, making sure it’s very smooth. Add the slurry to the soup and stir well. Continue to cook over low heat for a couple minutes until the soup has thickened.

Salt and pepper to taste. I find that it needs a generous portion of both, but remember to start small. You can always add more spices, but you can’t take them out. Serve and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and some more fresh dill, if desired. This goes great with a warm rye or sourdough.

Tip: I recommend tempering the sour cream and/or milk with some of the broth before adding it to prevent curdling, especially if you’re like me and tend to forget to take things out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature.

NB: I’ve made this with non-dairy milk and it’s fine, but definitely not as rich.