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.

Course Soup

Cuisine Czech

Keyword Dill recipes, mushrooms

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 25

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 475kcal

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.

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.