Tag Archives: dill

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

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Last week I wrote how we were treated to a teaser of spring and how it probably won’t last long. It didn’t. It’s been brutal this week, especially Tuesday. Dangerously cold with March definitely coming in like a lion. I got my first dose of the vaccine yesterday which is done outside and I was so impressed with the set up, though one of them said it took about 4 hours to warm up after Tuesday, the worse day this week. They really are stepping up in difficult circumstances and doing an incredible job getting this country safe. I’m sure tons of soup like this Hungarian Mushroom Soup were eaten to ward off the bitter cold.

The National Guardsman who checked me in had a bit of a chuckle. He asked how I was doing and I replied “I’m so excited!” And I was. It’s been a long 12 months of anxiety for so many of us, it’s good to see that the rollout of the vaccine is being successful and people are queueing up to get the jab. It will be nice to get back to some type of normalcy. I do think it won’t get back completely pre-COVID but I’m looking forward to traveling and enjoying live music again.

Until then, I’m enjoying cooking again and being creative. Global anxiety is such a creativity killer. Hungarian Mushroom Soup is one of my husband’s favourite soups. It goes so well with homebaked ciabatta so he baked up some fresh ciabatta to go this soup.

Technique for Hungarian Mushroom Soup

There are loads of variations of this soup and this is mine.

Coarsely chop the mushrooms and slice the scallions/spring onions. In a saucepan, melt the butter and add the mushrooms.

Once they start browning, add the scallions/spring onions, paprika and fresh dill. Sauté for a few minutes to bring out the fragrant flavour of the dill and paprika.

Add the broth and soy sauce and bring to a simmer.

Simmer on low for several minutes to allow the ingredients to come together with their flavours. Add the flour to the milk and stir well. Every time I do this step for soups or gravy, I’m always taken back to a silly advert in the ’80’s selling gravy and saying “just like homemade, but no lumps!” My mum never made lumpy gravy so I had absolutely no idea what they were on about. I did once I started making gravy. You need to mix it well enough that there are no lumps before putting into the soup.

Bring to a high simmer to cook the flour and thicken the soup for a couple of minutes. Cook for several more minutes at a low simmer. Add the lemon juice, chopped parsley, sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Once it simmers for a bit adjust the seasoning as needed. I sometimes add more paprika at this stage. There isn’t any wrong way, as long as you like it, it’s good! The last step is to add the sour cream, again don’t boil but make sure it’s all heated through.

Once the sour cream is incorporated (it won’t incorporate 100%) and is heated through, it is ready to serve.

Add a dollop of sour cream and garnish with parsley. Fresh ciabatta and butter is perfect for dipping into this soup. Pair with a Belgian Trappist Ale and life is good.

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Hungarian Mushroom Soup

A delicious warming mushroom soup

Course Soup
Keyword Hungarian Mushroom Soup
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Servings 4
Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

  • 2-3 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup scallions/spring onions sliced
  • 1 1/2 cup coarsely chopped shiitake mushrooms
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill (if using dried, 1-2 teaspoons)
  • 3 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 3 cups vegtable broth
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/2 cup sour cream

Instructions

  1. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the mushrooms and cook until they start to brown. Then add the scallions/spring onions, paprika and dill. Sautè for a few minutes.

  2. Add the broth and soy sauce and bring to a simmer. Simmer on low for several minutes. While this is simmering, mix the flour and milk and work out all the lumps.

  3. Add the milk mixture to the saucepan and cook it on a high simmer until the flour is cooked. Add the salt and pepper with the lemon juice and parsley. Cook for a few minutes on a low simmer and then adjust the seasonings if need be.

  4. Just before serving add the sour cream and cook on a low simmer until it's heated through.

  5. Serve in bowls with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with fresh parsley.

Grilled Salmon with Dill Sauce

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I spied a treat at the shop the other day in the form of Coho wild salmon. I’m not a fan of farmed fish so I love it when certain types come into season. I was in the mood to recreate a dish my mum used to make when I was younger. When I used to work with her she would bring in the previous night’s leftovers so I was lucky to eat well right out of university. At least one decent meal a day! One of my favourites was salmon, peas and potatoes. So I made Grilled Salmon with Dill Sauce with jacket potatoes and peas from our garden.

I chose dill sauce because I had a lot of fresh dill left over from making my husband Hungarian mushroom soup. I’ve realised I have not done a post on that so I shall have to make it again and do up a post to share.

Technique for Grilled Salmon and Dill Sauce

Heat the grill so it’s nice and hot. This will give the salmon a nice sear while keeping the centre moist. Slice a lemon. Place the slices on the grill and place the salmon on the lemon slices. It keeps the salmon from burning and gives it a lovely lemon flavour.

In a small saucepan, heat up some garlic infused olive oil. If you can have garlic, use two chopped cloves and regular olive oil. Sauté the chopped dill for a few minutes.

Add the mustard and the white wine and simmer to reduce a bit. Turn down the heat to low.

Add the cremé fraîche, this is a lovely alternative to regular cream. Stir in the cremé fraîche and keep it warm on low heat. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Spoon the sauce over the salmon and serve. This is such an easy dish to make but you are rewarded with high end flavour.

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Grilled Salmon with Dill Sauce

A perfect pairing of dill and seafood.

Course Main Course
Cuisine French
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings 2
Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb Fresh salmon 226g
  • 1 lemon, sliced
  • 1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
  • 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
  • 1 tbsp stone ground mustard
  • 1/3 cup white wine 2.5oz
  • 3 tbsp cremé fraîche
  • sea salt to taste
  • freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Grilled Salmon

  1. Season the salmon with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Slice the lemon

  2. Heat the grill to high heat. Place the slices of lemon onto the grill and place the salmon on the lemon. Grill until the fish has a nice sear and the centre is cooked to medium. Slightly pink in the centre.

Dill Sauce

  1. In a small saucepan, heat up the garlic infused olive oil and sauté the dill for a few minutes.

  2. Add the mustard and white wine and bring to a simmer. Reduce for a couple of minutes.

  3. Lower the heat to the lowest setting. Add the cremé fraîche. Mix well and keep it just warm. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Putting it together

  1. Place the grilled salmon on a plate and spoon the dill sauce over the salmon and serve immediately.

Mushroom and Feta over Salad

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I do seem to be on a mushroom kick, not just the vegetarian kick. Growing up, the only mushroom I was really exposed to was the button mushroom. Not to knock it, because that type is fine, but there really is such a variety to choose from. Different “meatiness” and flavours which can make dishes exciting. We were at the library a few weeks ago and my husband found a cookery book by Yotam Ottolenghi called Ottolenghi Simple. I love his approach to food. His recipe featuring mushroom and feta caught my eye so here is my version. It’s not too different from his though I adjusted the amounts of the ingredients a little here and there. I also added garlic because I love it paired with mushrooms and thyme.

When making this dish, try to find as many different varieties of mushrooms as you can. It should celebrate them. I was unlucky as when I went there wasn’t any variety! So strange as I can usually find about 5 types.

Technique for Mushroom and Feta

I think I found the smallest shiitake in the world!

Prep the ingredients prior to starting to cook, including the bulger wheat, as it does not take long to cook. The original recipe calls for adding salt and pepper to the bulger before soaking but I decided not to do that. I’m a huge lover of salt but I knew there would be plenty of that flavour from the feta and I seasoned the mushrooms as they cooked.

In a skillet, heat up 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and cook the onions for several minutes until they soften and begin to caramelise. Add 1/2 teaspoon of the cumin seeds. Stir and keep an eye on the seeds. You don’t want them to burn but you do want them to brown. Remove the onion and seeds, set aside.

If need be, add a bit more olive oil and then sauté the mushrooms. Once they begin to brown add the garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes then add another 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seed and the thyme. Again cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the balsamic vinegar and stir. This will reduce and absorb quite quickly. Add the rest of the ingredients, including the onions, and let warm through, about a minute. Spoon over mixed lettuce and garnish with more fresh dill. Serve immediately.

We really enjoyed this dish and I’m going to add this as a choice for the food bowls we do for lunch. Hopefully I’ll have better choice with the mushrooms.

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Mushroom and Feta

Mushrooms flavoured with thyme and dill, accompanied by feta over lettuce.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Mediterranean
Keyword Mushroom and Feta
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings 2
Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup bulger wheat
  • boiling water, enough to cover the bulger wheat
  • 3-4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 cup finely sliced red onion
  • 1 tsp cumin seed
  • 1-1 1/2 cups sliced mixed mushrooms
  • 3 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup fresh chopped dill
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1-2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 cups mixed lettuce

Instructions

  1. Place the bulger wheat into a bowl and cover with boiling water until the water is an inch over the wheat. The bulger wheat will expand by quite a bit. Keep covered by a tea towel until all the water is absorbed.

  2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat in a skillet and add the onion. Cook until it starts to soften and caramelise. Should take about 7 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seed. Cook, careful not to burn, until they are nicely browned. This will only take a couple of minutes. Remove the mixture from the skillet and set aside.

  3. If needed, add a bit more olive oil. Heat on high and add the mushrooms. Because the olive oil has a low smoke point, keep an eye on it and lower to medium-high if it starts to catch. When the mushrooms start to brown, add the garlic. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Cook for a few minutes.

  4. Add the thyme and the rest of the cumin seeds. Stir well and again cook for a few minutes.

  5. Add the balsamic vinegar while stirring. This will reduce and absorb quickly. Add all the other ingredients including the onion mixture. Allow it to warm through.

  6. To serve, divide the lettuce between 2 plates, top with the mushroom mixture and garnish with fresh dill.

Greek Lemon Dill Chicken

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Is it rude to want to lick the plate?  Probably, so I showed great restraint with this meal.  I got up as much as I could with the fork though.  🙂

I have a cookery book called “The Foods of the Greek Islands” by Aglaia Kremezi.  All sorts of wonderful recipes to try.

This is my version of the dish.  I didn’t vary to far from the recipe but I also wasn’t in the mood to use any blender.  And I changed the amounts of the ingredients for the balance I wanted.

Greek lemon chicken 1 2015

In a skillet, heat up about a 1/4 cup of olive oil.  Season the chicken legs with sea salt and pepper.  Brown both sides of the chicken.

Greek lemon chicken 2 2015

Remove from the heat.  In the scallions add about 1/2 cup of chopped scallions.  Cook to they are wilted.

Greek lemon chicken 3 2015

Add the chicken back to the skillet.  Add a cup of dry white wine and a cup of chicken stock.  Bring to a simmer.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes.

Greek lemon chicken 4 2015

Remove the chicken again.  Add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and about 4 tablespoons of chopped dill.  Stir well and bring it back to a simmer.  Add the chicken once more, cover, and cook until the chicken is cooked.

Greek lemon chicken 5 2015

To serve, cut up the chicken and serve with the sauce spooned over it.  We also served this with roasted potatoes and corn.

This has to be one of my favourite sauces I’ve made to date.  Very flavourful and bright.