Traditional Polish Christmas Mushroom Soup (Zupa Grzybowa)
Polish Christmas mushroom soup features wild mushrooms cooked in a vegetable broth with a touch of cream. It is traditionally served on Christmas Eve, often with pasta called 'łazanki'. Simple to make, with an intense, delicious mushroom flavour!
Servings 6 servings
Calories 98kcal
Equipment
- Fine mesh sieve
- Frying pan
- 3 pots 1 larger, 2 smaller
Ingredients
- 1.41 ounces dried wild mushrooms such as porcini or a selection, see *Notes
- 1 onion peeled
- 1 medium carrot peeled
- 2.12 ounces celery root peeled
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 allspice berries
- 2 teaspoons butter
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 1½ cups water for cooking the mushrooms
- 1 cup Polish łazanki pasta quadretti pasta, see **Notes
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose/plain flour
- 3 tablespoons light cream table/single cream
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook vegetable stock: To the pot add the onion, carrot, celeriac, bay leaf, allspice berries and vegetable stock. Cover and bring to the boil then turn the heat down and simmer for 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and using a spotted spoon lift the vegetables out of the pot.TIP: You can use ready-cooked vegetable stock and omit this step.
- Prepare dried mushrooms: In the meantime prepare the mushrooms. Soak the mushrooms in cold water for 2 minutes then rub them gently with your fingertips to remove any grit. Rinse the mushrooms thoroughly.
- Boil mushrooms: Place in a pot and add 1.5 cups (360 ml) of fresh water. Cover and bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour the entire mixture through a fine-mesh sieve squeezing the moisture out of the mushrooms (but making sure you reserve the liquid).TIP: In the meantime boil the pasta (according to the packet instructions).
- Sautee mushrooms: Finely chop the mushrooms. In a pan melt the butter, add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and sautee for about 8 minutes stirring often. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Add mushrooms: Using a fine-mesh sieve pour the liquid from cooking the wild mushrooms into the vegetable stock. Add the sauteed mushrooms, bring the soup to the boil then lower the heat and simmer, covered, for about 6 minutes.
- Thicken soup: Whisk together the flour, cream, sour cream and 1 tablespoon of cold water until smooth. Stir in 2-3 tablespoons of the hot mushroom broth then pour the entire mixture into the pot and stir with a whisk until thoroughly incorporated. Simmer for 2 more minutes.
- Serve: Remove from the heat, add the soy sauce, fresh parsley and adjust the seasoning as needed. Serve with Polish łazanki pasta.
Notes
- *The most affordable dried wild mushrooms I’ve ever come across tend to be sold in Polish stores.
- Rinse the mushrooms thoroughly to get rid of any grit before making the soup (see Instructions).
- You can boil the mushrooms in advance and once cooled refrigerate overnight (along with the mushroom water) until you are ready to make the soup.
- Boil the pasta while the mushrooms and vegetable broth are bubbling away.
- Be generous with the seasoning, especially the pepper.
- **If you can’t get the łazanki pasta use another small pasta variety such as small shells, pipettes, mini farfalle etc. You may need to use more than the recommended amount.
- Best served immediately. Refrigerate the soup and pasta separately for up to 3 days.
- Freeze the soup without the pasta for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 98kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 1147mg | Potassium: 228mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 2500IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg