When I was in the 11th grade, my general interest in cooking turned into a more serious hobby, and I started helping my parents make dinner. Eager to encourage my new passion, my mom shared her copy of chef Mollie Katzen’s The Moosewood Cookbook with me. Published in 1974, the cookbook is a paperback with black-and-white illustrations but no photography, a far cry from the glossy, photo-centric cookbooks of today. The pages were dog-eared and stained, evidence of my mom’s devotion to the book as she cooked through it during the 90s. The only recipe from the book we’ve ever made together, though, is the Hungarian mushroom soup.
Before the Hungarian mushroom soup entered my life, my feelings about soup were lukewarm. At 16, most of the soups I’d been served were either bland and watery or overly rich. Mushroom soup, often heavy with cream, felt particularly heavy—a chore to eat. Katzen’s soup, however, was different: savory, acidic, and lightly creamy. The recipe is based on a Hungarian dish called “gombaleves,” which literally translates to “mushroom soup.”
Traditional versions of gombaleves rely on the mushroom’s umami and sour cream’s tang to strike an ideal tart-savory balance. Katzen’s version amplifies flavor at every turn: a squeeze of lemon juice to play up the sour cream’s sharpness and a few dashes of tamari to accentuate the mushrooms’ savoriness. This combination of flavors and ingredients pays homage not only to Hungarian cuisine but also to the natural-foods era from which the Moosewood Cookbook sprang forth. At the same time, Katzen’s approach feels distinctly modern, with a bold, balanced flavor profile that holds strong appeal for today’s umami-obsessed home cooks.
The recipe page from the author’s original copy of the Moosewood Cookbook.
Serious Eats / Zola Gregory
In addition to being delicious, this soup is fantastic for beginners: It’s simple, affordable, and easy enough for even novice cooks to tackle. I remember my mom patiently teaching me how to sauté the onions, instructing me to stir frequently and wait until they were soft and translucent before adding the mushrooms. Learning to make a roux—a paste made from flour and butter to thicken sauces and soups—is another invaluable kitchen skill I first learned while making this recipe, as was seasoning to taste. I’d lean over the steaming pot, sipping the broth, and add tamari or lemon juice until it was just right. It gave me confidence in the kitchen and set me up to be the cook I am today, something I’m still grateful to my mom for.
The soup begins with 12 ounces of sliced mushrooms, sautéed with onion, dill, and Hungarian paprika until tender. You pour in two cups of broth, and while the mushrooms simmer, you make a roux in a separate pan. The roux goes in near the end, thickening the broth just enough to coat the back of a spoon and producing a soup that’s silky but not heavy. Just before serving, you stir in a half cup of sour cream for a creamy yet bright finish that keeps each bite feeling light—appropriate for any season, not just the fall and winter.
After making the soup with my mom a good 10 or 15 times, I knew the recipe well enough to cook it from memory. It was one of the first dishes I ever made without referring to a recipe—and without any help or supervision. As a teen, making it made me feel like a grown-up, especially when my parents allowed me to enjoy a small glass of chilled white wine alongside it at dinnertime.
Over the years, I’ve put my own spin on Katzen’s soup. I use soy sauce instead of tamari—since that’s what I keep on hand—and I always squeeze in extra lemon juice for a kick of acidity. Mostly, though, I stay true to the original. Why fix something that’s practically perfect? Besides, every time I make this soup, I’m reminded of those early days of cooking: how excited I was to help out, how proud I felt to be the one seasoning the pot, and the satisfaction of placing it on the table for my family. I still get the same feeling today. So much has changed in the world since I was 16, but some things, including my love for Katzen’s Hungarian mushroom soup, have stayed the same.
