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.

From: The Old Bear
Posted By: The Old Bear, oldbear@arctos.com
Post Date: Sat, 03 Oct 1998