Souper Soups: Beet Soup With Mushrooms Barščiai su Grybais, Pea Soup Žirnių Sriuba, Mushroom Soup With Bacon Grybų Sriuba su LašInukais, Sorrel Soup Rūgštynių Sriuba

LET’S COOK LITHUANIAN
with Dana Siliūnas

SOUPER SOUPS

Lithuanians eat soup every day. Soup is their main dinner and supper food. In olden times, soup was also eaten for breakfast.

BEET SOUP WITH MUSHROOMS
Baršciai su grybais

2 cooked beets, peeled, coarsely grated
1 carrot, finely sliced
1 onion, chopped
5 dried mushrooms, boletus for best flavor
5 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
8 cups water
4 Tbsps. sour cream
1/2 cup lemon juice
Soak mushrooms in cold water for a couple of hours. Cook them in soaking water for about 15-20 minutes. Remove mushrooms, cut them into thin slices, and return to strained cooking liquid. Add carrots, onion, and seasoning, and cook for another 20 minutes on low heat. Add beets, salt, and lemon juice. Stir well, taste for right acidity. Add sour cream just before serving, mix well. Serve with hot potatoes or black bread.

MUSHROOM SOUP WITH BACON
Grybu sriuba su lašinukais

3/4 cup bacon, finely cut
4 cups fresh mushrooms, cut into medium pieces
5 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, sliced thin
2 garlic cloves
3/4 cup sour cream
5 sprigs fresh dill, chopped
5 peppercorns
3 bay leaves
Salt to taste

Fry bacon and onion. Place all ingredients, except sour cream, in a soup pot, cover with water and
cook on medium heat until potatoes and carrots are soft, for about 30 minutes. When soup is done, add sour cream and bring to a gentle boil.

PEA SOUP
Žirniu sriuba

1 gallon water
1 1/2 lbs. smoked ham, chopped
1 cup barley
1/2 lb. dried peas
3 potatoes, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
10 peppercorns
1-2 carrots for color
Salt to taste
Add all ingredients to boiling water. Boil for 2-3 hours (or longer) on low heat.

SORREL SOUP
Rugštyniu sriuba

1 lb. beef shank
3/4 cup smoked ham or bacon
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, sliced
6 Tbsps. sour cream
2 cups tightly packet, sorrel leaves
Salt to taste

Prepare stock with meats and aromatic vegetables. Stem sorrel and add to strained stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Whiten soup with sour cream, heat for several minutes, but do not boil. Sorrel soup is eaten with boiled or baked potatoes.

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Alice Paprocki of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, writes: A recipe I have not seen in your magazine yet is one for “Potato Dumpling Soup”. I remember my grandmother making it when I was a little girl. Here is her recipe as I have re-created and made it for the last 40 years:

Hand grate approximately 4 medium potatoes. Place a double thickness of cheesecloth into a strainer. Add the grated potato and gently squeeze gently to remove the liquid. Wrap the potato in the cloth and then wring out as much liquid as you can. Place the potato pulp into a mixing bowl and add:

1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 egg yolk (if you double the recipe you may add the white o f another egg)
2-3 Tbsps. all purpose flour

Mix well. Form into small balls about 1 inch across or about 2 Tbsps. size, squeezing to form them. Drop into 2 quarts of simmering salted water or broth. Cook for about 20 minutes, simmering gently. These may be eaten as is, or may be incorporated into any soup of your choice. Makes a good vegetable soup also.

A recipe I would like to obtain is another my grandmother used to make and I have no idea how to duplicate. The recipe is for “Sour-Grass” soup. It was made from a wild sour grass but I do not know what else.

Note: The “Sour-Grass” o f your grandmother’s soup was most likely sorrel. You can grow it yourself or ask your supermarket for it. We found a recipe for sorrel soup in the cookbook Lithuanian Traditional Foods.