Gaby
The traditional Czech mushroom soup is called kulajda, while Georgia’s national culinary masterpiece is chakapuli. Choose whichever suits your taste, and enjoy a protein-rich meal without meat products at your Lenten table.
Kulajda with Chanterelles (Czech Cuisine)
The perfect base for this dish, which boasts a creamy, starchy thickness, a noticeable sweet undertone, and a distinct tanginess, would be fresh forest mushrooms during the mushroom season. In winter, dried chanterelles can be used instead.
Ingredients: fresh chanterelles – 100 g or dried mushrooms – 50 g; potatoes – 150 g; onion – 1; egg – 1; butter – 70 g; flour – 40 g; sour milk – 50 ml; dill, black pepper, cumin, vinegar, sugar, salt – to taste.
We will cook in a cauldron. Sauté the onion with flour in butter, then add water and the chanterelles, potatoes, dill, salt, and sugar. Simmer everything with the lid slightly ajar.
Once the mushrooms and potatoes are tender, stir in the sour milk and thicken the soup with a beaten egg, cumin, black pepper, and a splash of vinegar.
Tip
For the Czech soup, choose potatoes that break down easily – the starch will give the soup a creamy texture.
Chakapuli (Georgian Cuisine)
Typically, the recipe calls for young lamb or veal, but in a Lenten diet, the meat component is replaced with mushrooms.
Ingredients: mushrooms (button or other varieties) – 1 kg; onion – 200 g; butter – 100 g; cilantro – 50 g; parsley – 50 g; dill – 20 g; garlic – 1 clove; tkemali sauce or lemon juice – to taste; red pepper and salt – to taste.
Chop the mushrooms and sauté them for 10-15 minutes in their own juices. Drain the mushrooms in a colander to let the juices run off.
Next, simmer the mushrooms in butter with the chopped onion and garlic for another 15 minutes, adding mushroom broth, tkemali, or lemon sauce.
At the end of cooking, season the fragrant dish with red pepper and sprinkle with finely chopped herbs. Serve with Georgian lavash.
Tip
Among store-bought mushrooms, royal button mushrooms or portobello have the most pronounced flavor and aroma. If you find them available, they will be the best choice.
