Kulajda (Mushroom, Potato, and Dill Soup)
Kulajda, or creamy dill, mushroom, and potato soup with poached egg, is a proud representative of the sweet and sour dish family. It originated in southern Bohemia but now it’s widely enjoyed all over the country, sometimes with a few alterations to the original recipe. Czechs consider themselves avid mushroom pickers, so they know exactly how make use of their freshly picked mushrooms in the summer and dried ones in the winter.
The procedure is simple: you sauté some diced onion in a pan with butter, add flour to make a roux, then add broth. Then you add your soaked, boiled, or sautéed mushrooms, depending on which you are using, and season the soup with bay leaves, allspice, salt, and pepper. Add boiled potatoes to the soup and cook. Soften with sour cream and some chopped dill and you’re done.
Kulajda (Mushroom, Potato, and Dill Soup)
Ingredients
- 1 lb potatoes peeled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 handful dried mushrooms 40 g/ 1½ oz
- 2 cups water
- 1/3 stick butter unsalted
- 4 tbsp all purpose flour
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp vinegar
- 3 tbsp fresh dill chopped
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- salt
- pepper freshly crushed
- 4 hard boiled eggs
Instructions
- Begin by placing the dried mushrooms in a pot along with 2 cups of water. Place on high heat and bring to a boil, then turn the fire down to medium low and cook for 15 minutes. After this time, set the pot side to rest.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan and sauté the onion until softened. Make a roux by slowly adding the flour. Stir well with the back of a spoon to dissolve the flour for about a minute. This roux will thicken and provide a smoother consistency to the soup.
- Gradually add the beef broth (1/2 a cup at a time), stirring constantly, until all the broth is incorporated.
- Stir in the mushroom broth (reserve the mushrooms for a little later), add a little salt to taste and bring back to a simmer on low heat. Cook covered for 10 minutes.
- Then add the cubed potatoes and the mushroom and cook for another 15-20 minutes until the potatoes soften throughout.
- Once they're cooked, turn off the heat and add the cream, vinegar, sugar, dill and freshly crushed pepper. Check the soup and adjust the taste with more salt, pepper or sugar.
- Allow the soup to rest for 5-10 minutes then serve with 1 halved hardboiled egg per portion.
Enjoy!
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