No, not that Galicia. This Galician mushroom soup hails from the Eastern European Galicia which encompasses an area around Western Ukraine and Eastern Poland. Historically this soup was seen as a peasant dish due to its simplicity (seriously, check that ingredients list). While the broth is ‘clear’ this is not a broth or stock since the dumplings provide great textural contrast.
I first had this soup at a restaurant in Lviv called Kryivka. They specialize in traditional Ukrainian recipes and Galician cuisine so there are many dishes I enjoy recreating at home. When I first tried the soup however I was surprised because unlike other Ukrainian soups such as red borshch or green borshch this soup was quite thin. In fact if it were not for the dumplings you could drink the entire soup through a straw.
Yet when the umami packed liquid first touched my lips I just had to know how to make it. I asked how it is traditionally made and the server simply said “dry mushrooms, water, salt”. How easy is that. Of course I thought there must be more to it that they aren’t telling, but I’ll start with what they say first. It has quickly become one of my favorite Ukrainian recipes.
What Is A Galician Mushroom Soup
A Galician mushroom soup is a soup of porcini rehydration broth with minced porcini dumplings. A common garnish is chopped dill, although flat leaf parsley is a popular substitute as well.
The soup has a rich brown color, although unlike its neighboring Carpathian mushroom soup, this soup uses a clear broth. The only things you will find floating in the liquid are a few rustic dumplings and a garnish.
More Ukrainian Recipes To Enjoy
Why I Love This Recipe
Very Few Ingredients. This mushroom soup only needs dry porcini mushrooms, water, and salt for the broth, and flour for the dumpling dough (but you can add egg if you like).
Fun To Make. The broth only has one step and I’m the type of person who gets enjoyment from making dumplings. If you don’t enjoy hand making dumplings then this may not be as enjoyable for you.
100% Vegan. While I am not personally vegan, I do like to showcase recipes that can appeal across a variety of restrictive diets. If you make this soup without an egg in the dough then it checks all the boxes for a delicious vegan recipe. If you do include the egg it is still vegetarian.
How To Make This Galician Mushroom Soup
Based on the name of this recipe it’s quite obvious the key ingredient is mushroom. Specifically, you will need 55 grams (50 or 60 is okay) of dry porcini mushrooms. I personally go out to forage for these every year and dry them at home, but if you aren’t able to do that store-bought is fine (insert Ina Garten gif). Or the easiest solution – just buy them online here.
Mushroom Soup Recipe Ingredients
- 55 grams Dry Porcini Mushrooms – You can make this recipe with other mushrooms, but the signature taste will be different. Porcini, also called boletes edulis, are prized for their rich, umami taste and are the primary flavor of this mushroom soup.
- 2 liters Water – Its soup, so….yea.
- 1 tbsp Salt – I find this recipe needs quite a lot of salt to really push forward that mushroom flavor. If you are sensitive to salt you can try adding a tsp at a time and tasting once it is dissolved in the broth.
- Dill – Chopped, optional.
Dumpling Dough (You Can Also Use Store-bought Dough If You Prefer)
- 225 grams Flour
- 25 ml Neutral Oil – I used sunflower oil, but any neutral oil will work.
- 1 tsp Salt
- 125 ml Water – If you feel it needs another tbsp or two go ahead and add it while the dough is mixing. Depending on the humidity of your location, making dough can vary by quite a margin.
- 1 Egg – Optional. Eggs help with the binding and rolling, but if you want to leave it out to keep the recipe vegan you don’t have to add it. I personally do add it, but have made dough without it before and it still works.
How To Make This Soup Recipe
It is not extremely important to be exact on the mushroom weight. I used 55 grams per 2 liters of water, but if you want to make more broth (or less if you are low on dried mushrooms) you absolutely can.
Place the dry mushrooms in a pot and pour over two liters of boiling water. Let sit for minimum 30 minutes. You can however let it rehydrate for hours if you wanted to prep this early.
When you are ready to make the dumplings you can remove the mushrooms from the broth. Use your hands and squeeze out as much moisture as you can. Make sure whatever you squeeze out goes back into the broth – there’s tons of rich flavor there. Keep the broth on a low flame with a lid so it stays hot and ready to serve. Taste the broth and add salt as needed until you get to a level you are happy with.
Use a knife to hand mince the mushrooms until you get tiny pieces. This is quite easy however if the mushrooms have a lot of moisture in them they can be quite squishy so be careful with your knifework.
For the dough I use a modified version of my basic Ukrainian varenyky dough. Just add all the dough ingredients to a stand mixer with dough hook attachment and mix until you get a nice tight ball.
If you want to roll the dough by hand you can absolutely do so with a rolling pin. I prefer to use my Imperial pasta maker since these Ukrainian dumplings are basically no different than ravioli. Roll out a sheet to the second thinnest setting.
Lay down a strip of dough and place about a teaspoon of chopped mushrooms a few centimeters apart. Fold over the dough and cut into squares or circles. I do both when I make this recipe, so it really is up to you.
When you are ready to plate quickly boil the dumplings in water for about two minutes (fresh pasta cooks much faster than dry) and then place a few in the hot broth. Garnish with some chopped dill if you wish and enjoy!
How To Store This Galician Mushroom Soup Recipe
Both the broth and dumplings can be stored for future use. You should put the liquid in a sealable container and place it in the fridge (or freezer if you want to store it a long time). The dumplings should be tossed with a little bit of neutral oil, placed in a bowl, and covered with a lid or plastic wrap, then put in the fridge.
To re-heat and serve, bring the liquid to a boil and in the last minute add some dumplings to the boiling liquid heats them up from cold.
Galician Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
Mushroom Soup Recipe Ingredients
- 55 grams Dry Porcini Mushrooms You can make this recipe with other mushrooms but the signature taste will be different. Porcini, also called boletes edulis, are prized for their rich, umami taste and are the primary flavor of this mushroom soup.
- 2 liters Water
- 1 tbsp Salt I find this recipe needs quite a lot of salt to really push forward that mushroom flavor. If you are sensitive to salt you can try adding a tsp at a time and tasting once it is dissolved in the broth.
- Dill Chopped, optional.
Dumpling Dough (You Can Also Use Store-bought Dough If You Prefer)
- 225 grams Flour
- 25 ml Neutral Oil I used sunflower oil but any neutral oil will work.
- 1 tsp Salt
- 125 ml Water If you feel it needs another tbsp or two go ahead and add it while the dough is mixing. Depending on the humidity of your location making dough can vary by quite a margin.
- 1 Egg – Optional. Eggs help with the binding and rolling but if you want to leave it out to keep the recipe vegan you don't have to add it. I personally do add it, but have made dough without it before and it still works.
Instructions
- Use a kettle or stove to boil 2 liters of water. Pour the water over the dry porcini mushrooms and let sit out for at least an hour to rehydrate.
- Remove the mushrooms from the broth and finely mince them. Taste the broth and add salt as needed. Place the liquid on the lowest heat setting on your stove with the lid on to keep it up to temperature.
- Mix the dough ingredients by hand or using the dough hook on a stand mixer. Roll out sheets of dough.
- Place about a teaspoon worth of minced mushrooms a few cm apart and cover with more dough. Cut to size and pinch closed. You can cut in squares or circles, it is up to you.
- Boil a bit of water. Add the dumplings and boil for no more than two minutes.
- Fill a bowl with the hot mushroom broth and drop in a few mushroom dumplings. Garnish with some chopped dill and enjoy.
This was deceptively delicious. I thought it was going to be Spanish when I clicked on it since I didn’t know there was a Galicia in Ukraine but I made it regardless and this mushroom soup was so good I will definitely make it again.
Very delicious mushroom soup. Love from Japan