Red milk caviar and russula soup

Fans of quiet hunting this year on a “starvation ration”. It’s almost the middle of August, and there were no mushrooms, and no.

If it were not for the chanterelles that almost always help out, then mushroom pickers in most cases would return from the forest with half-empty baskets.

A trip to the 57th km of the Kaluga highway also did not bring a significant result. Forest, nature, fresh air, butterflies fluttering, birds singing, summer colors, the remains of wild raspberries – all this is very good. But it’s hard with mushrooms.

Red milk mushrooms and russula and all the same chanterelles – that’s the whole catch on Friday. Not a single white mushroom again, although yesterday was White Mushroom Day. Apparently, the mushroom king of the forest near Moscow does not know about this.

Red milk mushroom (milk plant, another name) is one of the varieties of the russula family.

The cap is 5-16 cm in diameter, convex when young, then prostrate, possibly sagging in the center, and even up to concave. The color is red-brown, brown-brown, in rare cases rusty or light ocher. The surface is velvety at first, then smooth, dry. The pulp is white, yellowish, very fleshy and dense. The smell is mostly like the smell of herring. The taste is soft, pleasant, sweetish. An edible mushroom that can even be eaten raw. It is good in raw salted or pickled form, and mushroom caviar is also good from it.

To prepare caviar you need: 2 kg of red mushrooms, 0.5 kg of onion, 0.5 kg of carrots, 3 tablespoons of salt, 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper, 3 parsley, 10 pcs. black peppercorns and vegetable oil for frying – get 2.5 liters of mushroom caviar.

Put the mushrooms in a saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to a boil. Cook mushrooms for 30 minutes under a lid over low heat. Peel, wash and chop the onion. Carrots clean, wash, grate on a coarse grater. Throw the mushrooms into a colander. Cool slightly, pass through a meat grinder.

Fry the prepared mushrooms in vegetable oil for 20 minutes (stirring over medium heat). Fry the onion in vegetable oil for 5-7 minutes (over medium heat, stirring occasionally). Also fry the carrots in vegetable oil. Put everything in a bowl, mix. Salt, pepper to taste. Simmer mushroom caviar over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 2 hours. Arrange hot mushroom caviar in sterilized jars.

Actually, it is best to cook soup from the russula themselves. Ingredients: russula – 0.3 kg; potatoes – 0.3 kg; onions – 100 g; carrots – 100 g; garlic – 1 clove; bay leaf – 2 pcs.; parsley – 1 sprig; dill – 1 sprig; black peppercorns – 3 pcs.; salt – to taste; water – 2.5 – 3 liters.

Cooking method: Pour the peeled and cut russula with water so that it completely covers them. Bring to a boil. Boil the mushrooms until they settle to the bottom. Drain the broth, rinse the russula. Peel the potatoes, cut them into medium-sized cubes. Peel the onions and garlic. Cut carrots into quarters. Put the mushrooms, onion and garlic clove into the pan. Pour in water, bring to a boil. Add potatoes, carrots and spices. Boil 20 minutes. Remove the onion and garlic from the soup. Salt the dish, add finely chopped greens. Continue to simmer the soup until the vegetables are tender, but at least 5 minutes.

Enjoy your meal!

Vladimir Sabadash.

Author’s photo