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Latvian Potato-Wild Mushroom Soup

A creamy soup of potatoes, wild mushrooms, bacon, onion, and paprika, garnished with dill.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Potato and dill work together. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 423 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Latvian Potato-Wild Mushroom Soup

6 to 8 people

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the broth

  1. Filter the mushroom liquid to remove impurities.

  2. Add the filtered liquid, the rest of the water, and the mushrooms to a large soup pot, and bring to a boil over high heat.

  3. Add salt, reduce heat, then simmer for 30 minutes.

  4. Add the potatoes, raise heat to medium, and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

  5. Remove from heat.

  6. Fish out the mushrooms, let them cool for a minute, then chop them roughly and set to the side.

Make the bacon and mushroom base

  1. Fry the bacon crisp in a separate skillet, then drain.

  2. Pour off all but a tablespoon of bacon grease and add the onion and mushrooms to it.

  3. Saute over medium heat for about 15 minutes, until the mixture is nicely browned.

  4. Stir the bacon back into it.

Finish the soup

  1. Meanwhile, puree the potatoes with a cup of broth.

  2. Whisk the pureed potatoes back into the pot, beating hard to remove any lumps.

  3. When the bacon mixture is ready, bring the potato soup back to a simmer.

  4. Add the cream, and let heat for several minutes, until the soup is about to boil.

  5. Stir in the mushrooms, bacon, and onion.

  6. Season with paprika and pepper and adjust for salt.

  7. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with fresh dill.

  8. Serve hot to 6 to 8 people.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

324Calories
12 gProtein
9 gFat
52 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Mushrooms1/2 cup sliced (35g)15
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Dill5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Potato + dilltop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together423 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Mushroom + potatotop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together968 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  4. Mushroom + oniontop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,626 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Onion + dilltop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,639 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Potatoes
Break down into a starchy purée that thickens the soup and gives it body.
Dried mushrooms
Add deep, earthy umami flavor to the broth and soak liquid that carries it.
Bacon
Adds smoky, savory fat that flavors the onion and mushroom base.
Heavy cream
Adds fat and richness, giving the soup a smooth, velvety texture.
Onion
Sweetens and deepens flavor as it browns in the bacon fat.

The step that matters

Stir the cream in gently and bring it only to just below a boil. Cream can curdle or separate when it is overheated or boiled hard, so heat it gently until steaming and hot rather than rolling.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mushroom, potato, onion, cream, dill):

  1. Garlicfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Parsleyfits better
  4. White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mushroom, potato, onion, cream, dill. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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