(click to enlarge)

This is a sauce used over mashed potatoes, Russian style hamburgers, and many other dishes. What mushrooms they use in Russia I don't know, and they wouldn't be available here anyway, so we're going to use Chinese dried black mushrooms. I presume the Russians have them too.

Make   -   (1 hr)
1. Soak MUSHROOMS in warm water for about an hour. Drain and squeeze out, reserving the soaking liquid.
2. Chop Mushrooms fine. Dice them with a knife, then finish in a mini-prep food processor or similar.
3. Chop SCALLIONS fine and mix with mushrooms.
4. In a sauce pan melt 1 T Butter and stir in Flour. Fry stirring over gentle heat until the flour has lost its raw taste and starts to color about one shade, then stir in Soaking Liquid starting with just a little at a time until you have a smooth (though very thin) sauce.
5. Simmer the Sauce down to a little more than 1 cup. It should still be very thin as it has to coat all those mushroom bits.
6. In a skillet melt 3 T Butter and stir in Scallions and Mushrooms. Fry stirring over moderate flame for about 8 minutes.
7. Stir Mushroom mix into Sauce along with Salt and Pepper.
8. Check liquidity and correct with boiling water if needed. Check seasoning and adjust if needed.