Zagorska soup

 Zagorje is a region in Croatia and this soup could be called a spoonful of Zagorje as it involves all of the ingredients typical for this region - dry bacon, sour cream, porcini mushrooms and wine.

In constant hurry and battle with the lack of time, often, and quite often unwillingly people reach out to fast food although they would much rater prefer a spoonful of homemade comfort food. If we stop and think for a moment it becomes clear that even decades ago, there existed something similar to fast food. A fast food kind of meal solution.

If offered "Zagorska" soup most of us won't think about fast food at all, but in a way it is exactly that.

With ingredients like bacon, potatoes and mushrooms, fast cooking time and the use of most ingredients which are almost always present in the fridge it can be considered a retro kind of fast food.

Fragrant smell, delicious taste and warmth of an ideal quick homemade dish.


Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1h
Total: 1h 15min
Serves 4

Ingredients:
200g smoked bacon
1 medium onion
100g dry porcini mushrooms
1 carrot
2-3 potatoes
1 tsp sweet powdered paprika
100ml white wine
water or soup stock
parsley leafs
sour cream

Instructions:
Finely dice the onion. Slice the carrots and dice the bacon. Slice the potatoes into small pieces.


Soak the dry porcini mushrooms.


Use the lardons from the bacon and put them in a deep pot to melt the fat.


Discard the lardons and add the onion and the rest of the sliced bacon.


Once the onion loosens up, add the mushrooms along side the water they have been soaked in. Simmer for about 10 minutes then add wine. Let the wine reduce.
Add the potatoes and carrots, powdered paprika, salt and pepper then pour in water or stock to cover all the ingredients. Let the soup boil then lower the heat to medium.


It is possible to add a spoon of flour if desired to thicken the soup but since the potatoes have starch in them it is not necessary. 

Cook the soup until the potatoes are soft, Serve with a spoon of sour cream and sliced parsley leafs.

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