Polish Christmas Beetroot Broth with Mushroom Dumplings {Barszcz Wigilijny z Uszkami}

Anna

6 years ago

74 / 100

Polish Christmas Beetroot Broth with Mushroom Dumplings {Barszcz Wigilijny z Uszkami}

Christmas beetroot broth is a savory, lightly sour soup that was made once a year in my home, reserved strictly for Christmas Eve dinner, along with the other 11 dishes served (stay tuned for all 12 dishes). A small portion of barszcz Wigilijny [bar-sht vee-gee-leey-nih] is served with 4-5 wild mushroom-filled dumplings as the opening dish, warming up everyone’s appetite and brining the traditional tastes of Christmas into the air. It’s tangy, earthy and sweet taste is complemented by a mossy and deep flavor of wild mushrooms that cannot be delivered by any other dish that I’ve ever tasted. It is original and absolutely irresistible.

This is a vegetarian version of barszcz, as many Poles observe Advent up until Christmas Day. Therefore, all Christmas Eve dishes are vegetarian or made with fish. If you’re not one to observe this traditional Catholic rule, here is another (and easier) version of beet soup that can be served at Christmas: [recipe here].

Although this vegetarian version takes a little bit of prep, it is all worth the time. What I mean is that the beets sit on the counter and sour (or ferment), so it doesn’t really require extra work, just time.

Polish Christmas Beetroot Broth with Mushroom Dumplings {Barszcz Wigilijny z Uszkami}

Yields: 6-7 servings
Prep Time: 5 days
Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

STARTER:
About 1 lb / ½ kg of fresh beets
1 tsp of sugar
1 tbsp of salt
4 garlic cloves, crushed
A piece of rye, pumpernickel or sourdough bread (if you have)
1 qt / 1 l of boiled and cooled water
ADDITIONALLY:
A pickling crock or glass jar
BROTH:
2 ½ c / 2 oz / 60 g of dried wild mushrooms*
2 ½ c / 600 ml of water
½ of a celery root or 1 celery stalk
2 carrots
1 parsnip
¼ of an onion burnt straight on a gas burner
6 whole peppercorns and allspice berries (each)
½ tsp of salt
¼ c of vinegar (4%)
3 medium beets
1 tbsp of butter
Sprinkle of dried marjoram
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 ½ tsp of sugar

Instructions

Wash, peel and slice your beets into thin slices. Place in a sterilized glass or ceramic pickling container. Add sugar, salt, garlic, bread, and water. Set on the counter for 5 days to sour.
One night before you're ready to cook broth, place dried mushrooms in a pot and add 2 ½ cups of water to soak (make sure the pot's large enough to fit about 8 cups / 2 liters of liquid). The next day, to soaking mushrooms add cleaned and peeled celery root, carrots, parsnip, onion, peppercorns, allspice berries, and salt and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Strain the liquid and return it to the pot. Reserve the vegetables.
Strain beets that have been souring, reserving the water. Add ¼ cup of vinegar to them to prevent losing rich red color.
Clean and peel fresh beets, slice thinly and add to mushroom / vegetable broth. Also add the beets from souring. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove beets. Add sour beet water and heat up throughout, but DO NOT BOIL.
To finish off, add butter, marjoram, and crushed garlic. Taste. If it's too sour / vinegary, add a bit more sugar. Also add a bit more salt, if needed. Soup is ready!

Notes

*IMPORTANT: some wild mushrooms are not to be served to children. Do your research before serving to children.

Reserve wild mushrooms and vegetables from broth to make mushroom-filled dumplings (recipe here).

Serve as an opening dish at your Christmas dinner.

Happy cooking and smacznego!

Anna

* I like this mixture of wild mushrooms as it reminds me very much of mushrooms picked in Poland.

Polish Christmas Beetroot Broth with Mushroom Dumplings {Barszcz Wigilijny z Uszkami}

Polish Christmas Beetroot Broth with Mushroom Dumplings {Barszcz Wigilijny z Uszkami}