Lithuanian Mushroom Soup (Grybų Sriuba)
If you've ever had Lithuanian mushroom soup at someone's grandmother's table, or an aunt's, or a family friend's, you know it doesn't taste like anything from a can. It smells like the woods it came from. Grybų sriuba (Lithuanian mushroom soup) is one of those dishes every Lithuanian family seems to make slightly differently, but the base is always the same: real mushrooms, potatoes, sour cream stirred in at the end.
Ingredients
- 15 g (1 tbsp) butter
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 300 g (about 10½ oz, roughly 4½ cups sliced) mixed mushrooms sliced (chestnut mushrooms plus a handful of any woodland/wild mushrooms available; even a small handful of dried porcini, soaked, adds real depth)
- 2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 1 bay leaf
- 250 g (about ¾ lb, roughly 1¼ cups diced) potatoes peeled and cut into small (1cm/ ¼ inch) cubes
- 600 ml (~2¾ cups) vegetable or mushroom stock
- 2 tablespoon sour cream grietinė, plus extra to serve
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2–3 minutes until soft.
- Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until they release their water and it evaporates completely, about 7–8 minutes.
- Add the garlic, potatoes, and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper and stir for 1–2 minutes.
- Pour in the stock, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 8-10 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender. Remove the bay leaf.
- Take the pot off the heat. Spoon the sour cream into a small bowl, add a ladleful of hot soup, and stir to combine, this stops it splitting when added back in. Stir the tempered sour cream into the pot.
- Stir in the dill and parsley. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Ladle into bowls, add a small extra spoonful of sour cream on top if desired, and serve with dark rye bread or sourdough.