30b30#4.2: Kulajda

This soup is dedicated to my colleague, Martin Straka, who encouraged me to foray into Czech cuisine during my soup making adventures. My initial research into Czech soups led me to an onion soup and a garlic soup, but Martin tells me these are reserved for hangover recovery, and a finer choice was Zelňačka (a cabbage soup) or Kulajda. I chose the latter because it had less funny decorations on the letters, and I was in a mushroom mood.

Mushrooms simmering.

This soup has a lot of dill. A lot, a lot. I'm used to using dill by the teaspoon. I put in a whole cup!

Dill!

I think the real kicker is the white vinegar, which adds some tang to the savory, creamy broth.

Unlike the last butternut squash soup, this one comes with my recommendation. Great for a quick vegetarian meal, especially on a cool winter evening.

Kulajda
Recipe based on a handful of different Kulajda recipes I found on the web and some gut instinct.

Ingredients

• 8 cups of stock (vegetable or chicken) 
• 1 lb of potatoes
• 1 cup of fresh dill
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 15 oz mushrooms
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 2 Tablespoons of white vinegar
• 1/2 cup of flour

Directions

• Peel potatoes and dice into small cubes. Cook potatoes in 8 cups of broth until soft (8-10 minutes, depending on size of cubes). Don't cook too long or the potatoes will turn to mush.
• Add sliced mushrooms to the soup pot.
• In a separate pot, heat milk and cream, and whisk in your flour. This will be a thickening agent. Use your muscles and whisk vigorously until all of the flour lumps are out. (You can alternatively make a roux for this step, but this is the lazyman's and slightly healthier option since it has less fat.)
• Pour milk-cream-flour into the soup pot, along with the dill, caraway seeds, and white vinegar.

Serve with a boiled egg and rustic bread.