Mushroom Magheritsa Soup

When Greeks return from the Anastasi service at church (Saturday Easter eve), the first thing to go into the mouths is a bowl of Magheritsa. This is a traditional soup made of boiled intestines (cleaned) and other offal (such as heart, lung, liver and sweetbreads). The soup is full of boiled greens, dill, parsley, scallions and finished with an Avgolemono (egg/lemon) mixture.

Not everyone likes lamb (or for that matter offal), I get it so last year I came up with a wonderful alternate using boiled lamb shoulder. This year, the third way is replacing offal with mushrooms and after seeing the empty bowls that returned from a dinner service I catered this past Saturday, the soup is a hit.

I offer these alternatives so you (the homemaker) doesn’t have to make two different soups for Easter (or Spring). Pick your version of Magheritsa and get on with the rest of the Sunday dinner menu.

Mushroom Magheritsa

1/4 cup olive oil

12 scallions, sliced

1/2 head of romaine lettuce, finely chopped

1 1/2 lbs. of assorted fresh mushrooms (Cremini, button, Shitake, Oyster), sliced and/or chopped

10-12 cups of hot lamb, chicken or vegetable stock

1/2 bunch finely chopped dill

1/2 cup finely chopped parsley

1/2 cup long grain rice

salt and pepper to taste

Avgolemono

2 eggs

2 lemons

garnish

1/2 fresh chopped dill

lemon wedge

Garnish

steamed/blanched asparagus

1. In a large pot, add the olive oil over medium heat and add your scallions and sweat for 10-12 minutes. Now add lettuce and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and sweat for 7-8 minutes or until softened. Now add the your hot stock, rice, parsley, dill and bring up to a boil then lower to medium and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
2. In the meantime, crack your eggs in a bowl and add the juice of 2 lemons and whisk until just frothy. Once the rice is cooked in the soup, remove from the heat and slowly add hot stock into your bowl of egg and lemon while whisking. While whisking add about 4-5 more ladles to temper and the heat of the egg/lemon mixture.
3. Pour the tempered egg/lemon mixture back into the soup pot, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and add the remaining 1/2 cup fresh dill. Serve with a wedge of lemon, good crusty bread.