Latvia: Potato and Wild Mushroom Soup

Mushrooming is a pretty popular pastime in much of the Baltic region and Eastern Europe in general. Don’t get me wrong, it sounds lovely – a leisurely stroll through a mystical forest, tasty snacking, and good company. However, it is likely that this suburbanite mom would likely poison her family on the hunt for said mushrooms. Or send them on a nice accidental trip into another reality. I do not want to become the subject of any future Netflix documentaries.

For this recipe, I did my ‘shroom foraging at Whole Foods. And here I am now, mostly lucid. So, with that super encouraging introduction, I give you this week’s explorations culinary travels – Latvia. Potato and Wild Mushroom Soup. Where someone smarter than me has decided the mushrooms are safe for human consumption.

In case you needed another reason why I am not a forager – it’s a whopping three degrees here right now with no change in the weather any time soon. We managed to find the only house ever built in Colorado that doesn’t have a fireplace and it is dang cold. Lady luck blessed us with a country known for being cold in this weeks expedition. We will be eating soup for days in this house – mostly because I am probably not leaving it.

In Latvian, it’s called Kartupeļu zupa ar sēnēm, but that seems pretty hard for me to say. The boys have decided to stick with just calling it ‘Potato and Wild Mushroom soup’. This is definitely a hearty soup, and easily sourced ingredients as is common in many Latvian dishes. Potatoes on potatoes on pork, with a dash of dill.

Try this Cauliflower Soup for any cold wintery day! It’s kind of like the healthier and lighter version of this one!

The Recipe: Potato and Wild Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

• 6 potatoes, diced
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1/2 lb. bacon diced
• 1 package of mixed mushroom. (A package of the baby bellas will work just fine too)
• 1 tbsp. paprika
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Start by boiling the mushrooms for about 30 minutes then add the potatoes until soft (another 20 minutes). Move the potatoes and about a cup of liquid to a food processor or blender to puree.

2. Return the puree to the pot and stir gently and continuously.

3. In a side skillet, sauté the bacon and onions for about 15 minutes. The onions will become soft and the bacon crispy. You can even do this step while you are literally watching your water boil in the steps above.

4. Move this mixture to the soup pot and stir.

5. Finally, add the cream and paprika and stir. Simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes.

6. Get a bowl and serve it up with some warm rye bread! Garnish with sour cream and dill.

File: Latvia; Mushroom and Potato Soup