I first had this soup on Thanksgiving day. I was with Will's family at a cabin in West Virginia and his mom had made a heaping pot of this soup to enjoy over the weekend. Not even a full five hours after stuffing myself with turkey and all the trimmings, I decided to try a bowl of it.
I'm not quite sure what makes this soup Russian, but the first thing I noticed about it was the dill. I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan of dill. I like dill pickles, my mom makes a great chicken salad with dill and I tolerate it in tzatziki. When it comes to anything else dill, I just can't do it. So it's not surprising I wasn't quite sure what to think after taking the first bite of this soup. Luckily, the dill doesn't pack an in your face punch, so I gave it another shot. After a few more bites I found myself loving this soup!
It's surprisingly light for a cream soup (in fact it only has 159 calories per serving). The mushrooms give it a rich flavor, paired with sauteed leeks, carrots and of course, the potatoes. If you're looking for a comforting bowl of soup, this is it!
Russian Mushroom and Potato Soup
from All-Recipes
2 leeks, chopped
2 large carrots, sliced
6 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried dill weed
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
fresh dill weed, for garnish (optional)
Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Mix in leeks and carrots, and cook 5 minutes. Pour in broth. Season with dill, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Mix in potatoes, cover and cook 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender but firm. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
Melt the remaining butter in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the mushrooms 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Stir into the soup.
In a small bowl, mix the half-and-half and flour until smooth. Stir into the soup to thicken. Garnish each bowl of soup with fresh dill to serve.
Serves 12.
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