Wigilijna Zupa Grzybowa (Polish Christmas Mushroom Soup) is a traditional Polish recipe for a soup of dried wild mushrooms in a vegetable stock base finished with cream and butter that's traditionally served at Christmas time. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Polish Christmas Mushroom Soup (Wigilijna Zupa Grzybowa).
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This is a classic Christmas soup from Poland. Traditionally it’s made from dried mushrooms foraged through the preceding year, though you could use commercial dried mushrooms instead.
Ingredients:
30g dried wild mushrooms
350ml water for soaking
1.5l of vegetable stock
6 whole black peppercorns
6 allspice berries
3 bay leaves
Salt, to taste (be careful if using stock that may contain salt already)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp double cream
Method:
Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl then pour over 350ml warm water. Set aside to soak for a minimum of 4 hours and preferably over-night.
The following day, transfer the mushrooms and their soaking liquid (leave any sediment behind) into a medium-sized saucepan. Add the stock, spices and herbs and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until the mushrooms are fully tender.
Turn into a fine-meshed sieve, reserving the mushrooms and stock.
Add a little of the hot stock to the cream to temper them mix the tempered cream to the stock. Pour into a pan and allow to warm through. Now add in the reserved mushrooms and bring just to a simmer.
Taste and season with salt and freshly-ground black pepper. Stir through the butter for extra flavour then ladle into four warmed soup bowls and serve.
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