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Zupa Grzybowa (mushroom soup)

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Hoser View Drop Down
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    Posted: 02 January 2013 at 04:36
A recent discussion with a friend of mine of Polish descent centered around a recipe he obtained for me from his mother. It is a family recipe for mushroom soup using both dried and fresh mushrooms.
I found this recipe quite different from most that I've seen....not necessarily in the contents  or procedures in the recipe itself, but in the service.
Most zupa grzybowa recipes I've seen are served with sour cream, and are either served alone or over egg noodles.
This particular one calls for it to be served over a scoop of mashed potatoes and topped with heavy cream.

I found this to be so tempting I decided to make it today, so stand be for updates as the day progresses.

I'm very lucky here in Rhode Island to have a local source that sells dried mushrooms for 2 bucks a package, so if this works out it might just become a regular.

Zupa Grzybowa (Mushroom Soup)


4-5 packages assorted dried mushrooms

3 Tbsp flour, browned

1 package mushroom gravy mix

2 packages fresh mushrooms

1 large onion, diced

2 Tbsp cider vinegar

2 Tbsp butter

2 qts water or beef stock

salt and pepper to taste

Heavy cream


Reconstitute dried mushrooms in water.


Sauté onions in butter until soft, and add dried mushrooms and beef broth.

Add browned flour and gravy mix and bring to a boil. Add cider vinegar and simmer for two hours, then add fresh mushrooms and simmer for an additional 20 minutes.


Serve in a shallow bowl over mashed potatoes, and top with heavy cream.



Grace Sowa

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HistoricFoodie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 January 2013 at 06:37
While this sounds good, Dave, I doubt I'll be making it. Two bucks a package for dried mushrooms s one thing. Eight bucks (which is the cheapest I've seen them 'round heah) is something else. It would become a very expensive soup.
 
Do let us know how it works out for you, though.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hoser Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 January 2013 at 02:36
Well here we go.....got started early yesterday afternoon. Here is most of the ingredients required:

Dried mushrooms, fresh mushrooms,onion, gravy mix, cider vinegar and heavy cream.


I started off by breaking the larger pieces of mushroom up a bit, then gave them a good soaking to re-hydrate for an hour or so.


While they were soaking, I diced the onion and when it was time, sautéd it in butter, while I strained the mushrooms, reserving the liquid to eliminate any possible grit.


Added the drained mushrooms to the onions and covered with the reserved liquid, then brought to a boil, added the mushroom sauce mix and simmered for 2 hours.

Then I thickened with a flour/water mix and simmered for another half hour.


Went by the plating instructions, and started with a spoonful of mashed potatoes, covered it up with the soup (actually more like a stew) and some heavy cream, then a garnish of freshly chopped parsley.


The verdict:

While the flavor profile was very nice, full, earthy bouquet as one might expect I was very disappointed in texture of the mushrooms. Even with an hour's soak and 2-1/2 hours simmering, they remained very chewy and difficult to eat....even the tiny enoki mushrooms remained like pieces of twine rather than the well cooked mushrooms I was expecting.

Most recipes I have read recommend re-hydrating dried mushrooms for 30-60 minutes, but I'm not sure if these would have been ok unless I had soaked them overnight.

Bad mushrooms? I think not...after all...once they are dry that's it. 

I'm at a loss to explain it right now, but I will pick up another package of mushrooms and do a little experimenting to be sure.

All in all, this is a nice recipe that I would do again, but I would use fresh mushrooms only, and grind up the dried ones into mushroom powder to achieve that earthy goodness without having to deal with the tough, chewy mushrooms.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HistoricFoodie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 January 2013 at 04:48
Sorry to hear that, Dave.
 
Been my experience that dried mushrooms do not fully rehydrate the way other veggies do. They seem to always retain some tooth.  But even so, that doesn't sound right.
 
I suspect too high a heat was used for drying them, and they were actually cooked rather than dried.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 January 2013 at 08:53
Dave - I was eagerly awaying the results of this one - thanks for posting!
 
The soup looks WONDERFUL - sorry to hear that the dried mushrooms were not up to expectations. Thinking about the origins, I'm wondering if the dried mushrooms were actually intended to be pulverised until quite fine, or even almost a powder, and then they would take the place of the mushroom gravy packet? Just a thought, but it might explain a few things.
 
I have no experience with dried mushrooms, but I know someone who does - we'll see if we can get some answers for you ~
 
Either way, it looks good, and with some mysteries solved, I'd definitely like to try it - wonderful Polish eating on a winter's day ~
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Aspen Hill Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 January 2013 at 14:44
I am posting at the request of Ron, because he is a good friend.
 
Some mushrooms are not very good at all when dried.  Some mushrooms are not very good when fresh, either!  I do not care for Enoki mushrooms, they are very 'woody' even when fresh.  Yuck.  I do not care much for their flavor either.  Oysters are great but check and cut off tougher parts where they attach to the wood that they are grown from.  Shitake are much better purchased fresh as they also dry on the tough side.  Oysters, shitake and even enoki can be purchased fresh in most large grocery stores.  They are expensive.  However, your recipe will probably come out much nicer with them.  Adjust for the moisture content that fresh 'shrooms contain since that recipe looks like it is meant to be thick. 
 
If you do want to try the dried ones again then I would suggest chopping them in your food processor AFTER soaking them.  You'll get the mushroom flavor but you won't have attractive but chewy pieces.  You can also just use the portabello and common white button 'shrooms.  I have found the portabellos are very tasty as young buttons over the mature caps.  They have a much stronger flavor when 'young' and thus more of a wild side, if you know what I mean.  Try the recipe that way. 
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hoser Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 January 2013 at 01:11
Thanks Ann...I appreciate the opinion and I'm aware of your expertise when it comes to mushrooms.

I do believe that next time I'll go with all fresh mushrooms for the soup, but will grind some dried ones to a fine powder to use as a flavoring agent.

It's really a wonderful soup so I'm not ready to give up on it yet.
Thanks to everyone for your advice and opinionsThumbs Up
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Margi Cintrano Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 January 2013 at 02:20
Hoser,
 
Yes, do go with seasonal wild ( uncultivated on farms ) if possible; in other words, freshly picked mushrooms for such a lovely soup; not dried packaged ones. 
 
I would consider a combination mix; young and small "Boletus Eduli" often called "Ceps", White Caps which are cultivated worldwide, Niscalos ( can translate into English ) and Chanterelles -- which are very tender blonde large fans in shape ... and are not meaty like the Boletus or Niscalos; and would provide a very gentle elegance to this soup ---
 
The dried, could be mixed in Food Processor or by electric stand up mixer, to eliminate the packaged soup mix.
 
This sounds very tasty; and is quite a popular soup in Northern Iberian Peninsula, especially Navarra at the foothills of the Pyrenees and in Castilla La Mancha forests.
 
All my kindest.
Margi.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 January 2013 at 12:34
Hi, Ann - and thanks much for the valuable information! We don't see too many mushrooms out this way in the dry, arid areas of Montana, but every now and then, some do pop up. I'm thinking this year of taking photos of some, getting a detailed description, and seeing which ones are safe or "good" for using in dishes.
 
Looking forward to another (and hopefully fully-successful) attempt at this traditional Polish specialty!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Margi Cintrano Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 January 2013 at 13:03
Tas And Hoser; I shall post a Navarran version when I get back to Madrid ... We employ Evoo + Butter; a bitof beef broth & Mushroom broth; a bit of Pancetta for flavor: garlic ... I will post in Iberia. Have foto; it is a specialty served in a cazuela at Bars. Have nice evening. Margi
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Margi Cintrano Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 January 2013 at 10:51

 

 
MARGAUX´s  MUSHROOMS:  Iberian Boletus Eduli / Ceps, Niscalos and White Mushrooms   
 
Volamos a Mediterraneo, un paraiso que conquista su gente u su cocina.
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