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Kwas Christmas Eve soup
Kwas is the Polish word for ‘acid’ and the name of a Christmas Eve soup made from sauerkraut & juice, dried mushrooms, and noodles or dumplings.
Ingredients
half a liter (approx. one pint) of sauerkraut juicetwo handfuls of dried forest mushrooms
handful of sauerkraut
a bit of thinly shredded, fried onion
barley
Instructions
Clean the mushrooms thoroughly with a brush to remove any sand or dust deposited on them. Soak the mushrooms in cold water for about an hour, then drain them, pour that water away. Take small amount of fresh water (one glass at most) and boil the mushrooms in that water until they are soft, keeping the pot covered. Once the mushrooms are ready, drain them again but do not pour that water away. Slice the boiled mushrooms into thin strips.In another pot (large one) mix the sauerkraut juice with water and start boiling it. Amount of water needed depends on personal taste, i.e. how sour you want your kwas to be. Probably it takes some experimenting to figure it out… but as far as my Mom can recall, this recipe should be for 1,5 – 2 liters of soup. It’s a kwas (= “acid” in Polish :) ) so it should taste strong rather than thin, I guess. Once it starts boiling, throw the sauerkraut into the pot, then add the thinly sliced mushrooms you boiled earlier. Keep boiling the soup for quite a time, it should acquire the taste & smell from the mushrooms. Add the water you boiled the mushrooms in small portions – as much as your taste tells you to.
Basically, the longer you boil the soup, the more sour and ‘mushroomy’ it gets. If it gets too sour, it’s OK to add a bit of fresh water or a pinch of sugar, but my Grandma made a note on the recipe to avoid adding sugar as much as possible
How to Cook Barley
When buying barley, look for hulled or hull-less varieties over pearl. The former take longer to cook, but they pack more fiber because their outer layers are intact.
Ingredients
Kosher salt
1 cup hull-less barley
Step 1
Bring a pot of water to a boil; season generously with salt. Add barley; reduce heat to a low, steady simmer. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until chewy and tender, 55 to 60 minutes. Drain. Use immediately, or spread on a rimmed baking sheet to let cool. Once cool, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month.
Re hydrating dried mushrooms
Place the mushrooms in a small bowl. Add water and let soak overnight. Transfer mushrooms and soaking liquid to a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the mushrooms are tender, about 40 minutes. Drain mushrooms, reserving soaking liquid. Coarsely chop mushrooms; set aside.