The next country we visited after Libya was Sweden. Of course many Swedish recipes use meat, but we also found a fair number of mushroom items. I remember my wonderful Swedish grandmother making us a fabulous mid-summer meal that featured mushrooms folded in flakey pastry. It was heavenly. Unfortunately I do not have the recipe, and I do not make very good pastry. Thus we went with a mushroom soup that I found mentioned in several places. In the end, I took a basic mushroom soup recipe and amended it to include some of the Swedish flavors I kept seeing.
Vegetarian Mushroom Soup
Saute about one pound of mushrooms and 1/2 a cup of chopped shallots in a mix of olive oil and butter (just enough) for about five minutes. Once they are wilted, add about 2-4 tbs of dry sherry (this depends on how dry the mushrooms are) and about 2 tsps of dill . After that is well mixed, add about 4 tbs of plain flour. I like to blend the flour with some of the stock to prevent lumps, but that's just me. Top up with about 3-4 cups of stock. Whisk carefully to avoid lumps. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, turn down to low, and cook for at least 15 minutes. Finish with cream (if you're feeling naughty) or milk if you aren't. Chopped fresh dill, chives, or parsley are nice on top.
The soup was actually really good (if I do say so myself) and we ate it with steamed potatoes, sweet and sour beats (as my mom makes them) and beat greens too. It was certainly a meal I would make again, and next time I might experiment with different types of mushrooms. Hopefully my Swedish granny would be proud.
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