Hrybna Yushka (грибна юшка, mushroom soup)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A big modern stockpot
• •A fine sieve and clean cloth for straining
• •A wide pan for the zasmazhka
• •A sharp knife for slicing softened mushrooms

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the mushrooms

   Put the dried mushrooms in a heatproof bowl and pour over the boiling water. Press them under the surface and leave them until they swell, soften, and stain the water almost black. Lift the mushrooms out with your fingers, then pour the soaking liquor through a fine sieve lined with clean cloth, stopping before the gritty last spoonfuls.

2. 2

   Start the broth

   Slice the soaked mushrooms into bite-size pieces and put them in a big pot with the strained soaking liquor, fresh water or stock, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Bring it up slowly, then keep it at a low murmur until the broth smells rounded and woody instead of sharp and damp.

   Do not waste the soaking liquor. The grit goes, the black water stays. That is where the mushroom flavor lives.
3. 3

   Add the potatoes

   Add the potatoes and a cautious pinch of salt. Let them cook until they give way cleanly to a spoon but still hold their corners. If you're using fresh mushrooms, add them here too; they bring body, but the dried mushrooms are the voice of the soup.

4. 4

   Build the zasmazhka

   Warm the sunflower oil in a wide pan and soften the onion gently until translucent, then add the carrot and cook until it slumps, sweetens, and turns the oil gold. If you want the yushka a little thicker, stir the flour into this pan and cook it until the raw flour smell disappears. You're not browning hard; you're coaxing sweetness.

   The zasmazhka goes in near the end so the onion and carrot sit brightly on top of the mushroom broth. Add it early and that sweetness sinks away.
5. 5

   Finish the pot

   Scrape the zasmazhka into the soup and stir well, letting the pot settle back into its low murmur. Add the garlic, taste for salt and black pepper, and cook until the broth tastes joined rather than watery at the edges. Pull out the bay leaves if you see them.

6. 6

   Rest and serve

   Turn off the heat and let the yushka stand before serving, because mushroom broth needs a little quiet. Stir in most of the dill at the end, then ladle into deep bowls with more dill on top. Add smetana if it is an ordinary winter supper; leave it off for a strict Christmas Eve table.

Chef Tips

• •Dried porcini give the cleanest Carpathian flavor, but a mix of dried wild mushrooms is still a good pot. Avoid dusty old packets with no smell; dried mushrooms should still smell like the forest when you open the bag.
• •If the soaking liquid tastes sandy even after straining, let it settle in a jug for a few minutes and pour from the top. Grit is the only enemy here.
• •For Sviata Vecheria, keep the soup lean with sunflower oil and no smetana. On an ordinary cold day, a spoon of smetana is a bit more modern in some homes and very welcome.
• •Potatoes make it family-supper generous. For a clearer Christmas version, leave them out and serve the broth with tiny mushroom vushka dumplings.
• •The soup improves overnight. Mushrooms like time, and the broth gets darker after a sleep in the fridge.

Advance Preparation

• •The mushrooms can soak overnight in cool water for an even deeper broth. Strain the liquor carefully before cooking.
• •The whole yushka can be made a day ahead and reheated gently. Add fresh dill only when serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 360g)