Russian Dried Mushroom Soup Recipes

RUSSIAN MUSHROOM SOUP

Steps:

• Break dried mushrooms into small pieces and rinse thoroughly with cold water to remove dirt granules. Cover mushrooms with 8 cups cold water and add salt and garlic. Cover and simmer for 2 hours or more until mushrooms are tender. Add more salt to taste. When soup is done, saute onion in oil and add to soup. Simmer for just a few minutes. Traditionally served Christmas Eve at Holy Supper.

RUSSIAN WILD MUSHROOM SOUP WITH FARRO

Steps:

• Soak the dried mushrooms in enough boiling water to cover them for about 1 hour. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid, and chop coarsely.
• Melt the butter in a large heavy-based saucepan, add the onion, celery and fresh mushrooms and fry gently for about 15 minutes.
• Add the farro, the dried mushrooms, plus their soaking liquid, and the stock. Season with salt and pepper to taste, cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Add the potato and bouquet garni and simmer until the farro is cooked and the vegetables are tender - about another 20 minutes. Stir in the dill and lemon juice, then check the seasoning and adjust if necessary.
• Serve hot, with spoonfuls of soured cream on top.

RUSSIAN MUSHROOM AND BARLEY SOUP

Steps:

• If using dried mushrooms, soak them in 1/2 cup of hot water for about 20 minutes.
• Slice and set aside, reserving soaking water, too.
• Put the oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven,add 2 tablespoons of the butter and melt the butter over medium heat.
• Saute the onions and garlic, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent.
• Stir in the consomme and water and add the potato, celery, carrots, bay leaves, dill, barley and the reconstituted mushrooms and soaking water.
• Add salt and pepper to taste, bring the soup to the boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 15 minutes (about an hour if using regular barley), until the barley is tender.
• Clean the fresh mushrooms, cut off and discard woody stem ends, and cut the smaller mushrooms in half and the larger ones into quarters.
• Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and saute the mushrooms until some liquid has been yielded and no raw color shows.
• Stir mushrooms and liquid into the soup and simmer 5 minutes.
• Remove and discard the bay leaves.
• Just before serving, put the sour cream in a medium bowl and stir a cup or so of hot soup into it to temper it.
• Stir the diluted sour cream into the soup and serve immediately (don't cook the sour cream), garnished if you like with strips of lemon zest.

RUSSIAN BARLEY MUSHROOM SOUP

Steps:

• Thoroughly rinse the mushrooms under cold water.
• Soak the mushrooms in the 6 cups of water for at least one hour (Ideally four to eight hours). Don't drain the water.
• Reserve the mushroom water (it will be dark in color).
• Uniformly chop the mushrooms and return to the water.
• Add the mushrooms, water, and chicken stock into a large cooking pot (7.5 qt or so).
• Bring to boil.
• Add the barley and cook until the barley is tender. This will be about 10 minutes with 'quick' barley or about 35 minutes with regular.
• While the barley is cooking, peel and cube the potatoes to about 3/4 inch cubes.
• Cut up the onions and saute them in a skillet until golden.
• Finely chop the cooked onions.
• Chop the carrots.
• Once the barley is tender, put the potatoes, carrots, onions, salt, and pepper into the pot.
• On low-med heat cook until the potatoes are done.
• When serving, add two tablespoons of sour cream and finely chopped parsley to each bowl of soup as garnish.