Barszcz Wigilijny (Christmas Eve Soup)

A pretty, clear broth with little mushroom-filled dumplings. Vegetarian.

Easy to make, but takes a lot of clock time.

Dried mushrooms are soaked for 2 hours, then simmered for another 2 hours until the liquid is reduced. I've never seen them treated like this. The liquid is added to the beet stock. The cooked shrooms are used to make little dumplings. I didn't have time for this, so used cêpe-filled ravioli instead. Have frozen the shrooms to use later.

The soup is beautiful and tasty.