Kulajda – Czech White Soup with Mushrooms, Potatoes and Dill

Ingredients

1 handful dried mushrooms

1 piece onion peeled

2 pieces bay leaves

5 pieces black peppercorns

5 pieces allspice

1/4 teaspoon cumin

2 twigs lovage

salt

4 tablespoons flour

500 ml sour cream

4 pieces potatoes bigger, peeled, cut into small cubes

2 tablespoons vinegar

4-6 eggs

1 bundle dill small bundle

Preparation

I start with dried mushrooms. A mixture of forest mushrooms provides the best and very intensive taste. I put them into a saucepan with water, bring them to boil and cook them for 5 minutes until they are soft. I check the mushrooms if they are soft enough. When done, I take out the mushrooms and rinse them well with cold water. I don’t use the mushroom broth in this case as I want the soup to be really white.

Now I put mushrooms, halved onion, bay leaves, black pepper, allspice, cumin, lovage, salt and 2 litres of water into a pot. I bring it to a boil and cook it for 15 minutes. In the meanwhile I mix flour, sour cream and a little bit of cold water and I pour this mixture through sieve into the soup. I have to whisk it and bring to a boil again. Then I add potatoes and cook them for another 10 minutes untill they are soft.

I flavor the soup with vinegar, salt and I add also eggs. Sometimes I cook eggs like poached eggs (Crack the egg into a cup and then gently slide it into the soup.) and another time I just pour beaten eggs into the soup and mix them with fork.

I put dill into the soup just before serving so the taste is really strong. Ready to serve.