Kulajda – Czech Mushroom Soup

When you smell dill in the Czech Republic, it means either koprová omáčka or kulajda soup are going on the table. Talking about kulajda, it’s a very satisfying hearty soup made from simple basic ingredients.

➜ What Is Kulajda

Kulajda is a Czech mushroom soup containing dill and potatoes, softened with cream. It’s characterized by a typical sweet and sour taste. 

This dill soup belongs to traditional Czech soups. I highly recommend everyone to try kulajda when visiting Prague or another city in the Czech Republic. 

Kulajda originates in southern Bohemia (jižní Čechy), a forested region where mushrooms grow in abundance. That’s why this soup is sometimes called “jihočeská kulajda.”

➜ Ingredients

The hero ingredient is mushroom in this recipe. Czechs love to pick them. Families have their stocks of dried mushrooms, which are replenished each fall in the mushroom season.

• Potatoes; use all-purpose potatoes like Yukon Gold
• Unsalted butter and all-purpose flour for the cooking roux. The ratio between butter and flour should be roughly equal to make a good roux. 
• Sugar; to sweeten kulajda soup
• Dried mushrooms; a critical ingredient, if you can, get porcini mushrooms (in Czech “hřiby”) ideally
• Heavy cream; not a light version
• Vinegar; any common you have on hand
• Fresh dill; finely chopped; use the feathery leaves only
• Black pepper; ground
• Salt
• 3 cups beef broth; for soup
• 2 cups water; for cooking dried mushrooms

You’ll also need separately boiled eggs. They will be added to the plate with kulajda soup while serving.

✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.

➜ Instructions with Photos

STEP 1: Throw dried mushrooms in a pot with 2 cups of water, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside.

STEP 2: Let’s make a roux, which will thicken the kulajda soup: In a pot with thicker bottom, melt unsalted butter over medium heat. Add all-purpose flour, stir for 1 minute. It will create a bubbling mass. 

STEP 3: Start adding beef broth in batches: add ½ cup of broth, stir well. Continue until the broth is used up. This method will prevent you from ending up with lumps in the soup. 

STEP 4: Add the mushroom broth to the soup, straining the cooked mushrooms. Taste with salt, stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a minimum. Cover with a lid and let it cook for 10 minutes.

STEP 5: Meanwhile, peel potatoes and cut them into ½-inch cubes. Add to the soup together with cooked mushrooms and cook for another 15 minutes until potato cubes soften.

STEP 6: Chop fresh dill, don’t use stems, just soft green leaves. 

STEP 7: Remove soup from the stove, pour in the cream, stir. Add vinegar, sugar, ground pepper, and chopped dill. Do not cook anymore. Mix with a wooden spoon, season to your liking with salt/or sugar if necessary. 

STEP 8: Let the kulajda soup sit for 5 minutes and serve.

➜ Serving

Serve kulajda warm, and add a halved hard-boiled egg into the soup. If you have some fresh dill left, sprinkle the soup with a few green leaves as a final touch. 

You don’t need any bread as a side because kulajda is quite filling on its own.

For a spectacular presentation, use a poached egg instead of a boiled egg. Anyway, you’ll usually get kulajda soup with a boiled egg when ordering it in one of the Prague pubs. 

➜ Cook’s Tips

• Add dill only at the end of cooking to kulajda. Fresh dill loses its flavor and vivid color the longer is cooked.
• You also can make kulajda from fresh mushrooms. In this case, sear the roughly chopped mushrooms in a pan with fat. Salt and pepper, and add to the soup. Instead of 3 cups of broth, use 5 cups because you don’t need to cook dried mushrooms ahead.

If you are a fan of mushrooms, try scrambled eggs with mushrooms (Czech smazenice!)

More Czech soups:

• Cauliflower soup – květáková polévka
• Sauerkraut soup – zelňačka
• Garlic soup – česnečka

Kulajda – Czech Mushroom Soup

Kulajda is a Czech mushroom soup containing dill and potatoes, softened with a cream. It’s characterized by a typical sweet and sour taste.

5 from 6 votes

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Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 475kcal

Author: Petra Kupská

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Czech

Keyword: Dill recipes, mushrooms

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 pound potatoes (450 g)
• ▢ ⅓ stick butter (40 g) unsalted
• ▢ 4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (40 g)
• ▢ ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 g)
• ▢ 1 handful dried mushrooms e.g. porcini mushrooms
• ▢ ¾ cup heavy cream (180 ml) fat content about 30 %
• ▢ 3 Tablespoon vinegar 5% acidity
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons fresh dill chopped, only leaves, no stems
• ▢ 3 cups beef broth (720 ml) for soup
• ▢ 2 cups water (480 ml) to cook dried mushrooms
• ▢ salt
• ▢ pepper ground
• ▢ 4 hard-boiled eggs

Instructions

• Throw dried mushrooms in a pot with 2 cups of water, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside.
• Let’s make a roux, which will thicken the kulajda soup: In a pot with thicker bottom, melt unsalted butter over medium heat. Add all-purpose flour, stir for 1 minute. It will create a bubbling mass.
• Start adding beef broth in batches: add ½ cup of beef broth, stir well. Continue until the broth is used up. This method will prevent you from ending up with lumps in the soup.
• Add the mushroom broth to the soup, straining the cooked mushrooms. Taste with salt, stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a minimum. Cover with a lid and let it cook for 10 minutes.
• Meantime, peel potatoes and cut them into ½-inch cubes. Add them to the soup together with cooked mushrooms and cook for another 15 minutes until potato cubes soften.
• Chop fresh dill, don’t use stems, just soft green leaves.
• Remove soup from the stove, pour in the cream, stir. Add vinegar, sugar, ground pepper, and chopped dill. Do not cook anymore. Mix with a wooden spoon, season to your liking with salt/or sugar if necessary.
• Let the kulajda soup sit for 5 minutes and serve.

Notes

• Makes 4 yields.
• Serve kulajda warm, and set a halved hard-boiled egg into the soup. If you have some fresh dill left, sprinkle the soup with a few green leaves as a final touch.
• Add dill only at the end of cooking to kulajda. Fresh dill loses its flavor and vivid color the longer is cooked.
• You also can make kulajda from fresh mushrooms. In this case, sear the roughly chopped mushrooms in a pan with fat. Salt and pepper, and add to the soup. Instead of 3 cups of beef broth, use 5 cups because you don’t need to cook dried mushrooms ahead.

DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:

Conversion chart

Nutritional Estimate pro portion

Calories: 475kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 257mg | Sodium: 818mg | Potassium: 697mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 1177IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 2mg

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