Kulajda
A traditional soup from South Bohemia: potatoes and forest mushrooms in a creamy, lightly sour broth with sour cream, plenty of fresh dill and a poached egg on top. Its character comes from three flavours: caraway, vinegar cutting through the cream, and dill added only at the end. It is best in autumn with fresh forest mushrooms, but button mushrooms with a handful of dried ones also make an excellent soup. The key is tempering the sour cream with hot soup so it does not curdle.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Preparation 15 min
- Mushrooms 10 min
- Potatoes 20 min
- Thickening 8 min
- Poached eggs 15 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneSoak the dried mushrooms
Cover the dried mushrooms with 250 ml of hot water (from the total amount) and leave 15 minutes. Keep the soaking water — it holds most of the forest flavour. Clean and slice the fresh mushrooms.
Ingredients: 250 g forest mushrooms or button mushrooms · 15 g dried mushrooms · 20 g butter · 1200 ml water · 400 g potatoes · ½ tsp caraway seeds · 1 pcs bay leaf · 3 pcs allspice berries · 1½ tsp salt
Sauté the mushrooms with caraway
Melt the butter in a pot and sauté the fresh mushrooms 5–6 minutes, until their water evaporates and they colour lightly. Add the caraway for the last minute.
Ingredients: 250 g forest mushrooms or button mushrooms · 15 g dried mushrooms · 20 g butter · 1200 ml water · 400 g potatoes · ½ tsp caraway seeds · 1 pcs bay leaf · 3 pcs allspice berries · 1½ tsp salt
Until the water cooks off — only then do they brown.Add water, potatoes and spices
Pour in the rest of the water and the mushroom soaking water (strained through a paper-lined sieve to catch grit), add the chopped soaked mushrooms, potatoes in 1.5 cm dice, bay leaf, allspice and salt. Simmer 15–18 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
Ingredients: 250 g forest mushrooms or button mushrooms · 15 g dried mushrooms · 20 g butter · 1200 ml water · 400 g potatoes · ½ tsp caraway seeds · 1 pcs bay leaf · 3 pcs allspice berries · 1½ tsp salt
Make the thickener
In a bowl mix the sour cream with the cream and flour until smooth. Ladle hot soup into it, stirring constantly — 3–4 ladles. Tempered like this, the cream will not curdle in the pot.
Ingredients: 250 g sour cream (18%) · 100 ml whipping cream (30%) · 2 tbsp plain flour · 1½ tbsp white or wine vinegar · 1 pinch sugar · 1 bunch dill, chopped
Hot soup into the cream, not the other way round.Thicken the soup
Pour the thickener into the pot, stirring, and simmer gently 5 minutes, until the soup thickens and loses the raw-flour taste. Do not let it boil hard.
Ingredients: 250 g sour cream (18%) · 100 ml whipping cream (30%) · 2 tbsp plain flour · 1½ tbsp white or wine vinegar · 1 pinch sugar · 1 bunch dill, chopped
Season with vinegar, add dill
Remove the bay leaf and allspice. Season the soup with vinegar, a pinch of sugar and salt — it should be distinctly but pleasantly sour. Add the dill only now, off the heat; boiled, it loses colour and aroma.
Ingredients: 250 g sour cream (18%) · 100 ml whipping cream (30%) · 2 tbsp plain flour · 1½ tbsp white or wine vinegar · 1 pinch sugar · 1 bunch dill, chopped
Poach the eggs
In a wide pan bring water with vinegar to the boil and lower the heat until it just trembles. Crack an egg into a cup, stir the water and slip the egg into the centre of the swirl. Cook 3–4 minutes, until the white sets but the yolk is still runny. Lift out with a slotted spoon into a bowl of warm water. Repeat with the rest — about 15 minutes in all.
Ingredients: 4 pcs eggs, very fresh · 1 tbsp vinegar for the water
The water should tremble — egg into the centre of the swirl.Serve with the egg on top
Ladle the soup into bowls and set a poached egg in the centre. Serve with dark bread. The broken yolk spreads through the soup and makes it creamier still.
Ingredients: 4 pcs eggs, very fresh · 1 tbsp vinegar for the water
Before you start
Which vinegar
Czechs use plain white vinegar. Wine vinegar is milder — add a little more. Start with a tablespoon and season gradually: the sourness should lift the cream, not cover it.
Safe eggs
A poached egg has a runny yolk. For children, pregnant women and older people poach the eggs 7–8 minutes until the yolk is fully set, or serve the soup with a hard-boiled egg.
Storage
The soup without eggs keeps 2 days in the fridge. Reheat it gently, without boiling, and add fresh dill. Always cook the eggs just before serving.
