Russian Mushroom Soup is a flavorful soup made using a mix of dried mushroom, barley, and veggies. It is a hearty and filling homestyle soup perfect for winters. Here is how to make it.
Check out some more of my favorite soup recipes – Chicken Clear Soup, Pumpkin Curry Soup, Instant Pot Tomato Soup, and Jambalaya Soup.
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About This Recipe
Dried Mushroom Soup is a traditional Russian soup that is made using a mix of dried mushrooms, vegetable broth, barley, and veggies. It is filling and hearty and makes for a great dinner with a side of crusty bread.
In most Slavic countries, people dry mushrooms over the summers. During winters, when it’s too cold to hunt any mushrooms, they use these dried mushrooms to make scrumptious and nutritious dishes.
Dried mushrooms are much more flavorful than fresh ones, as they contain condensed flavors. But worry not, you can make this Russian mushroom soup with fresh mushrooms as well if you don’t have dried mushrooms at hand.
This recipe allows a lot of experimentation. You can add potatoes, noodles, other vegetables, barley, and more.
Ingredients
Dried Mushrooms – I have used a mix of dried porcini and oyster mushrooms but you can use any other variables such as portabello, aspen, birch, chanterelles, etc.
Vegetable Broth – I used my homemade vegetable broth but you can buy it too. You can also use chicken or beef broth.
Barley – Barley is used extensively used in Russian cuisine. You can add grains like millets, wild rice, etc to this soup.
Veggies – I added carrots and potatoes but you can add other veggies like green beans, cauliflower, radish, etc to this soup.
Others – You will also need onions, garlic, light olive oil, salt, and pepper.
To make this soup richer, you can add some heavy cream at the end of the cooking.
How To Make Russian Dried Mushroom Soup
Wash 2 cups of dried mushrooms under running water. I used a mix of Porcini and Oyster mushrooms. Soak them in 5 cups of water for 1 hour.
Drain the water and chop the mushrooms into small pieces.
Reserve the water in which we soaked them.
Transfer the chopped mushroom to a large pot along with the reserved water. Add 5 cups of vegetable broth, salt & pepper to taste, and ¼ cup pearl barley to the pot and bring the soup to a boil over high heat.
Reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot with a lid and cook the soup on low heat for 30 minutes.
Add 1 cup peeled and cubed potatoes and 1 cup cubed carrots and cook covered for another 30 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and set it aside.
Heat 2 tablespoon light olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.
Once the oil is hot, add 2 teaspoon minced garlic and ½ cup chopped onions and fry until they turn slightly brown.
Pour the onions over the soup and serve hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can dehydrate mushrooms at home easily. Preheat your oven to 150 degrees F. Meanwhile, clean your mushrooms.
To clean, first, wash the mushrooms with water and dry them on a paper towel. Gently squeeze the excess water.
Now cut the mushrooms into thick slices. This will help in the drying. You can dry the whole mushrooms too, but it will delay the process.
Spread the mushroom slices on a baking sheet in a single layer. Put the baking sheet in the oven for 1 hour. Now flip the slices and keep them in the oven for another hour. Remove the mushrooms from the oven and let them cool. Check if they are crispy. If not, place them in the oven for another 30 minutes until done.
Storage Suggestions
This soup stays good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Cool it completely and store it in an airtight container. Heat well before serving.
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Recipe Card
Russian Dried Mushroom Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried mushrooms (I used a mix of Porcini and Oyster mushrooms.)
- 5 cups water
- 5 cups vegetable broth (you can use chicken or beef broth too.)
- salt & pepper (to taste)
- ¼ cup pearl barley
- 1 cup peeled and cubed potatoes
- 1 cup peeled and cubed carrots
- 2 tablespoons light olive oil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ½ cup finely chopped onions
Instructions
- Wash the mushrooms under running water and soak them in 5 cups of water for 1 hour.
- Drain the water and chop the mushrooms into small pieces.
- Reserve the water in which we soaked them.
- Transfer the chopped mushroom to a large pot along with the reserved water. Add vegetable broth, salt & pepper, and pearl barley to the pot and bring the soup to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot with a lid and cook the soup on low heat for 30 minutes.
- Add potatoes and carrots and cook covered for another 30 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and set it aside.
- Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add garlic and onions and fry until they turn slightly brown.
- Pour the onions over the soup and serve hot.
Melissa
Great for leftovers. Froze some for another day.
Neha Mathur
Happy to hear 🙂
Amal
delicious. I didn’t have carrots so I used shaved Brussels sprouts instead and I used lite coconut milk at the end instead of cream and it was so good. such a great winter soup!