Sauerkraut mushroom soup is a popular winter dish in Russia that will nourish your body and soul. It is special for the Russian Orthodox Christians because this is what they serve during the long fast lasting from the end of November until January 7th. During this time period, the strict rules dictate that no meat, bacon, animal fat, butter, eggs or milk may be eaten. This tradition was particularly hard for the farmers who had to work outside and needed heavier foods to survive. The cooks had to be creative and came up with this delicious, hearty soup … that today would fit the vegan definition.

This is a lovely soup that has three simple main ingredients: sauerkraut, mushrooms and barley. Mushrooms are a nice substitution for meat so use as much as you desire. The sauerkraut of course gives it the pleasant sour flavor and has immense health benefits. The crunchy barley adds the robust aspect to the soup.

The soup will need a good home-made stock. Both a meat based or a vegetable based stock would work great. For the vegetarian stock, I used onions, garlic, and 2 bay leaves. I also included 1 heaping Tbsp of black peppercorn, a handful of mushrooms, 2 large celery roots, a couple of carrots, and a parsley root. Honestly, we could not taste much difference. Don’t forget to put celery root in the vegetarian stock, it surely adds something special to the flavor.

PLEASE READ !!! I usually use cep mushrooms but if you don’t know how to find edible mushrooms in the wild, definitely go to the stores and purchase them there. Mushrooms are valuable but if you don’t know how to prepare them, get them in a store. Stores sell some fine mushrooms that are dried and are worth using. Just soak them in water and then they are ready to be used. Last time I used shiitake mushrooms and I thought they worked well.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb sauerkraut
• 100 gr (3 oz) dried mushrooms or 8- 10 oz fresh mushrooms (Please see above for more info on safety). (Use hardier mushrooms like shiitake).
• 1 cup pearled barley
• 6-8 cups vegetable or beef stock (please see above)
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• few springs of thyme or 2 tsp dried thyme
• vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup shallots or small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt and black peppercorn, to taste

METHOD

1. If using dried mushrooms, soak in water for a couple hours or maybe even overnight if needed.
2. Make the stock. Please see above for more info. (Omit if using ready-made stock).
3. Make the barley. In a small pot, boil 3 cups of water and put 1 cup barley in the boiling water. Turn the heat down and cook for 1 hour without cover.
4. In a medium saucepan, sauté the shallots in a little oil for a few minutes.
5. Add the garlic and mix.
6. Add the drained sauerkraut, thyme spring, caraway seeds and bay leaves. Cover with stock. Cook for 1 hour covered.
7. For the last 10 minutes, add the mushrooms slices.
8. Take out the larger thyme pieces and bay leaf.
9. Salt and pepper to taste.
10. Serve with the barley and hardier bread like rye.

enjoy!

Text and photo by twincitiesherbs.