VEGAN MAGIRITSA – GREEK EASTER SOUP WITH MUSHROOMS & TAHINI

Magiritsa is linked to the Greek Easter more than any other dish as it is the soup that Greeks eat after the church service when the clock strikes midnight in the early hours of Easter Sunday, marking the end of Lent. The soup is traditionally prepared with lamb ofals & stock from the lamb’s head but gets its distcinctive flavour from the use of bunches of fresh dill & the “avgolemono”, lemon-egg sauce.

Here the meat is replaced with a mix of mushrooms and the avgolemono with a tahini-lemon sauce for a vegan version of the dish that can be enjoyed all year round.

Ingredients

125 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
7-8 spring onions, chopped
500 g chestnut mushrooms
200 g oyster mushrooms
1tbsp of cornflour
2 ltr hot water
1 small bunch of dill, chopped
2 tbsp of tahini
2 lemons for their juice
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onion and spring onions and sauté over medium heat until softened but not browned.
  2. Add the mushrooms and sauté for a few minutes, add some salt and a generous grinding of pepper.
  3. Sprinkle in the cornflour, stir in the water and bring to the boil (keep on stirring).
  4. Let it simmer for 35-40 minutes.
  5. Mix the tahini with lemon juice and a bit of hot water from the saucepan to form a smooth paste.
  6. Incorporate in your soup by stirring until it mixes with the rest of the liquid, then add the chopped dill, stir once more and your are ready to serve.