Polish Mushroom Soup Christmas Food

POLISH MUSHROOM SOUP FROM DRIED MUSHROOMS (VEGAN, FOR CHRISTMAS EVE)

Steps:

• [The night before] To get rid of dirt and impurities, rinse dried mushrooms briefly in cold water. Then, place them in a bowl and cover with fresh water - just enough so they float freely. Set aside overnight. If you're worried that a bowl might attract some unwanted attention (from bugs, cats etc.), cover the bowl with cloth or a plate.
• Once you're ready to cook, prepare a cooking pot (ideally sized at 2.5 quarts or more).
• Move soaked mushrooms to the pot, keep the soaking water.
• Grab the bowl with remaining soaking water. Try separating the water from the sediment formed at the bottom. Move the water to the pot and get rid of the residue.
• Top the pot up to 2 liquid quarts (1.9 - 2 litres) of water. Cover with a lid and cook on the lowest heat for 25 minutes, until the mushrooms start to turn soft.
• As the mushrooms cook, peel all the vegetables and chop them roughly.
• Once the time is up on the mushrooms, add in all the vegetable chunks and peppercorns. Continue cooking for another 30 minutes, but follow the next step 15 minutes in.
• With 15 minutes left till the end of cooking - let's cook 'łazanki' noodles. Grab another cooking pot, fill it with water and bring to boil. Drop the pasta in, and just follow the directions on the pack - in my case that's 10 minutes of cooking time.
• Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the mushrooms and veggies from the stock and set them aside.
• Using an extra fine sieve, strain the stock multiple times, until it's clear and not foggy. If you don't have a fine sieve, line a regular sieve lined with a cloth instead (cheesecloth, a piece of muslin square or similar).
• Let's balance the flavours now - add 2 generous pinches of salt and a solid pinch of ground black pepper.
• Add a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice and blend everything together with a spoon. Have a taste - does the soup need more kick? I usually add one more tablespoon of lemon juice (so two in total).
• Slice the mushrooms into stripes, small ones can be kept whole.
• The vegetables gave their all, there isn't much flavour left. But if you wish, you can reuse them to bulk up pâtés, pierogi fillings etc. I usually reuse some carrots, cubed, for serving.
• Arrange the mushroom slices in the individual soup plates. Add 'łazanki' pasta and pour the soup over it. Garnish each plate with chopped parsley (optional)

POLISH DRIED MUSHROOM SOUP - ZUPA GRZYBOWA

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Combine mushrooms and hot water in a large, heatproof bowl. Let stand for 1 hour.
• With your fingers, work mushrooms to release any grit. Let stand until very pliable, about 1 hour longer.
• Lift mushrooms from the liquid. Cut mushrooms into large pieces and set aside. Reserve bowl of soaking liquid.
• In a 5- to 6-quart pot, combine stock , chopped mushrooms, and pearl barley, if using. Pour the reserved soaking liquid into the pot, taking care not to disturb the grit in the bowl.
• Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms and pearl barley are tender, 30 to 45 minutes. If making the soup ahead, at this point cool, cover and chill up to overnight. Reheat to simmering and proceed with the next step.
• In a medium bowl, mix the sour cream with flour and temper by whisking in a little hot soup.
• Pour contents of the bowl into hot soup, whisking constantly on medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
• Remove from heat and ladle into warm bowls. Serve with kluski noodles, if using. Garnish with sour cream and parsley, if desired.

POLISH WILD MUSHROOM SOUP

Steps:

• Cover mushrooms with cold water and soak overnight.
• Drain the mushrooms reserving the soaking liquid, strain the liquid through a fine cloth.
• Rinse the mushrooms in cold water to remove any remaining sand then slice into strips.
• Add the mushrooms, 8 cups of of the beef stock and the soaking liquid to a 3 quart saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer over low heat 4 hours.
• Melt the butter in a heavy skillet, add the onion, sauté until golden brown then add to the soup.
• Whisk the cornstarch with the remaining cup of beef stock, add to the soup, stir and simmer until slightly thickened.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper, ladle into individual bowls, top each with 1 tbs sour cream and sprinkle with parsley.