Zupa Grzybowa (Mushroom Soup)

If you google the web for Zupa Grzybowa you'll find that there are probably as many recipes for this yummy soup as there are Polish cooks. Some start off by cooking a roux which will later thicken the soup. Others thicken at the end with a clever combo of sour-cream and flour. Some add barley. All would probably agree that the best mushrooms for that are those that are grown in Poland... but I really have no access to them fresh or dried, so I can't comment! The addition of dried porcini, however, does add a lovely depth of flavour to it. Perhaps one day I will be able to use Polish mushrooms - if so, I'll tell you what they are like. :)

I'm giving you my version which does not use a roux, and is usually not thickened at the end. It freezes well at that point. You can thicken it with sour cream and flour if you wish when re-heating - instructions will be given below. Or you can simply serve with some sour cream on the table for people to add to their liking.

You can very easily make this soup either vegetarian or vegan by using vegetable stock and omitting the sour cream

Zupa Grzybowa

500g mixed fresh mushrooms
100g dried porcini (or if you happen to be able to get dried Polish mushrooms give them a whirl!) - soak these for about an hour before use.
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 litres good quality vegetable or beef stock - use the fresh kind, not one made up from stock powder!
1 cup pearl barley (optional)

cook onions in olive oil until translucent. Add in fresh mushrooms, dried mushrooms, and the water the mushroms were soaking in (run through a sieve to catch any grit). Stir through. Pour in the stock, add in 1 cup of rinsed pearl barley. Put a lid on it and cook at a medium-slow heat for about an hour. If using the pearl barley make sure you cook it long enough so it is soft - the hour usually suffices.


for thickening...
2tbs cornflour
2 cups of sour cream
mix the cornflour and sour cream together. Whisk in a wee bit of the hot soup to loosen it and bring it to the same temp as the soup (so it doesn't curdle when added). Pour into the soup, whisking until it comes to a boil.

Delicious served with toasted sourdough.

As the Polish say smacznego! or Bon apetit!