Gombaleves (Creamy Mushroom Soup)
Published February 17, 2025
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
- Total Time
- 50 minutes
- Prep Time
- 20 minutes
- Cook Time
- ½ hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound white button or cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
1 cup finely chopped yellow or white onion
Salt and pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
2 teaspoons dried dill
½ teaspoon dried thyme
3 cups low-sodium chicken, mushroom or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
¼ cup sour cream, plus more for serving (optional)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup chopped parsley
Crusty bread, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving
18 grams carbs; 30 milligrams cholesterol; 192 calories; 3 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 12 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 688 milligrams sodium; 6 grams protein; 6 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
In a large Dutch oven or pot, melt butter over medium. Add mushrooms and onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and all of the liquid has been absorbed, 10 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are lightly caramelized, 5 minutes.
- Step 2
Stir in garlic, paprika, dill and thyme until well blended, then add broth and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, stirring to lift up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, to allow flavors to meld, 10 minutes.
- Step 3
Place flour in a small bowl; whisk in milk until smooth. Add milk mixture to the pot (reserving the bowl) and cook, stirring occasionally, until soup has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat.
- Step 4
While soup thickens, place sour cream in the small bowl and whisk in ¼ cup of the soup, 1 tablespoon at a time, until well blended. (Tempering the sour cream will prevent it from curdling when added to the hot soup.) Add sour cream mixture and lemon juice to the pot and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.
- Step 5
Divide soup among bowls and top with parsley and a dollop of sour cream, if desired. Serve warm, with crusty bread on the side. (The soup can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. To reheat, simply thaw then warm in a saucepan over low heat, whisking, until warm.)
Private Notes
Comments
I'd make this again 'as is' except I would dirty the extra pot to caramelize and sweat the mushrooms separately (while caramelizing the onions in the main pot). Then add them together and proceed. Even in my large Dutch oven, the large onion + 1lb of mushrooms put out a TON of water, added a lot of cooking time, and made it hard to get that sweet sweet caramelization. Otherwise, so easy and delicious.
This is almost identical to the Hungarian mushroom soup I make. To amp up the mushroom flavor, I also add about an ounce of dried porcini mushrooms that I have rehydrated in 1/4 cup hot water. After the mushrooms have softened, I chop them up and add them and the water used to hydrate them to the soup. Also, a little dill goes a long way in our house, so I often just use thyme.
This is almost identical to the The Moosewood Cookbook’s, “Hungarian Mushroom Soup.”
I cook this soup each fall. Using chanterelles and adding some stripes of green peppers. Fresh dill is a must. I call it Chanterelles chowder here at the Oregon coast.
Really delicious soup! I didn't have sour cream but used full fat Greek yogurt and that worked well.
Any thoughts on using vegan sour cream? I usually replace whole milk with Oatly oat creamer with good results. But not sure about sour cream in this soup... anyone try it?