Zagorje Soup with Porcini Mushrooms

For these chilly autumn days, ahead of the oncoming freezing winter, we have chosen as a suggestion a dish that might satisfy some as the only (main) meal on the table, though many will say it is, after all, just—soup. Yes, it is a soup, but a thick, hearty, rich one, packed with ingredients among which mushrooms lend a special fullness of specific flavor. And not just any mushrooms, but—porcini. The name of this culinary beauty is: Zagorje soup with porcini mushrooms.

Zagorje cuisine is otherwise recognizable for having a lot of dishes eaten with a spoon, which used to be served in bowls, the predecessors of today's plates. Poorer families and day laborers of Zagorje would eat together from one large bowl, each scooping with their own spoon from their part of the bowl, catching the larger pieces that happened to be there, in "their" corner of the large bowl. And if it was Zagorje soup with porcini mushrooms, then, besides pieces of meat, the main catch would be—a piece of porcini.

Zagorje soup with porcini mushrooms. If you haven't tasted it already, you absolutely must. Because the porcini is a true delicacy, one of the most valued mushroom species. It has been harvested since ancient times across the entire northern hemisphere in deciduous and coniferous forests. Unlike, say, button mushrooms or oyster mushrooms, the porcini (Boletus edulis) cannot be cultivated. For it, one must head to the market to find a mushroom forager, or—into the forest. To hunt. More precisely, to pick. Because it won't run away from you, but it can easily escape the eye of an inexperienced "hunter." However, we leave those details to the mycologists and mushroom gatherers; what matters most to us here is having porcini on the table to prepare the Zagorje soup, preferably fresh, though dried will do as well. For example, yesterday at the Zagreb markets, beautiful fresh porcini mushrooms were selling for 80 HRK per kilogram (dried were 60 HRK per 100g), so if price is a measure of finesse, then they are finer than the best meat. And in Zagorje porcini soup, they truly are!

Although much more could be said about porcini mushrooms (for instance, that the month of November marks the end of their picking season, and a new one won't begin until next May), enough talk! Because the mere thought of soon enjoying a hearty mushroom soup called Zagorje style makes our mouth water. And sparks the desire to dive a spoon into it as soon as possible.

So, let's dive straight into the preparation first!

Ingredients needed:

• 300 g porcini mushrooms

• 100 g veal or pork shoulder

• 100 g smoked meaty bacon or pancetta

• 100 g smoked cooked pork neck

• 200 g potatoes

• 2 tablespoons lard

• 1–2 cloves of garlic

• 1 onion

• 1 carrot

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 2 tablespoons sweet ground red paprika

• 100 ml white wine

• 200 ml sour cream

• 2 tablespoons flour

• Ground pepper

• Salt

• Parsley leaves

Preparation process:

1. Sauté the finely chopped onion in the fat. When it becomes translucent, add the carrot, bacon, and garlic, and continue to sauté. After 10 minutes, add the meat, and finally, the mushrooms sliced into thin pieces.

2. When the water evaporates, add the tomato paste, ground paprika, the cooked smoked pork neck cut into cubes, and the potatoes.

3. Pour in the wine, and once the alcohol evaporates, drench generously with water and toss in the bay leaf. Cook covered over moderate heat until the potatoes soften.

4. Smoothly blend the flour with 2–3 tablespoons of sour cream and some water, then pour it into the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another 5 minutes.

5. Before serving, sprinkle the soup with finely chopped parsley leaves. Offer the remaining sour cream as well, so everyone can add it to their soup as desired.

Enjoy your meal!

Source: HRT