crusty french bread
Melt half of the butter in a deep sauce pan. Saute onions until translucent and tender. Add the remaining
butter and allow it to melt. Add the paprika and cayenne. This quantity of paprika will form a
roux. Add the mushrooms and saute until tender. Do not overcook the mushrooms or they will lose their
texture. Stir in the sour cream and allow to heat gently until warm. Serve over rounds of lightly
toasted crusty French bread.
This recipe is easy to adjust as you cook. Add more butter or more paprika to get a nice, thick roux which looks
almost like a flour-and-butter roux. We've found the 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne is just about right, but you may want a
little more bite -- but be careful, because if you add too much, you'll lose the paprika under the cayenne and come out
with something more akin to Tex-Mex Mushrooms, which is not the intent.
We've served this as an appetizer at a dinner party, as a light supper (with a small green salad and a crisp chilled
white wine), and as a family lunch. Most people who try it are surprised by the robust flavor of the paprika because
they're used to more traditional paprikash recipes which typically use about 1/3 of the quantity of paprika.
