Babci's Polish Mushroom Soup

This delicious, earthy vegan mushroom soup is reprinted from The Urban Vegan: 250 Simple, Sumptuous Recipes from Street Cart Favorites to Haute Cuisine* by Dynise Balcavage.

Serves: 6

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 5 whole black peppercorns
• 4 whole balls of allspice
• 4 cups chopped, fresh wild mushrooms (to be authentic, use Polish mushrooms
  like borowiki; otherwise, shiitake, porcini, oyster mushrooms, cremini,
  and/or cepes make wonderful substitutes)
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 3 tablespoons flour
• ½ to 1 cup vegan sour cream (add less for a thinner soup,
• more for a thicker, richer soup)
• 1 pound small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into quarters
• Parsley, for garnish
• Salt and lots of black pepper

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, peppercorns, and allspice. Sauté for about 5 minutes, then add the mushrooms. Sauté another 5 minutes, then pour enough broth in the pan to just cover the vegetables.

While the vegetables are cooking, whisk together the flour and sour cream in a medium bowl until there are absolutely no lumps. Then slowly add this mixture to the soup pot, a bit at a time, mixing continually until completely blended. Add the remainder of the broth and the potatoes.

Simmer the soup, partially covered, over medium-low heat until the mushrooms and potatoes are soft and cooked, about 1 hour. Add a bit more water or broth if you need to.

When the soup is ready, puree about half of it in the blender and then add it to the pot. Adjust seasoning. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a bottle of Pilsner or wheat beer.

Variations:

• Omit the potatoes and serve this soup over cooked wide noodles or cooked brown or long-grain rice.
• If you like a chunkier, more stewlike soup, omit the puree step. Conversely, if you want the soup to be completely smooth, puree the whole batch.
• For a lighter soup, use soy milk or rice milk instead of vegan sour cream.

Dynise Balcavage blogs at Urban Vegan.

• Mushroom lovers, rejoice! Here are more mushroom recipes for you.
  
• Explore other delicious vegan soup recipes here at Soulful Soups.

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