Fatsup with Kohlrabi - Test 1

https://www.everydayhealthyrecipes.com/polish-kohlrabi-soup-zupa-z-kalarepy/#recipe

1 - I added bacon. The soup as written makes for a good base, but doesn't really stand out. With the rendered lardons, the added fat and umami make the flavour of the soup.

2 - I decided to name this for the famous Uberwaldean national dish. The bacon completely transforms this dish, and then there's butter added, so the new name is perfectly suitable! I didn't have fresh dill and added some dried dill weed instead, which was fine, but I'd really like to try it with the fresh stuff. I have not yet tried it with sour cream).

3 - Again very good, but Ben felt it had too much of a brassica tang and tried some soy sauce which seemed to work. I don't want to use soy sauce too much in my European cooking, so I would like to try something else that contains a lot of umami, such as mushrooms. What I propose is to soak shiitake mushrooms and use the broth as well as the mushroom, to see if the chewiness of the mushroom would work with the soup.

4 - Ah. The chewiness of the mushroom does not work with the soup, but the umami does. Ben's feeling was that the texture of the mushroom wasn't right with the veg, but the broth was delicious. There is also that the mushrooms seemed to be bland and detracted from the flavor of the soup. So, can I find something where the reconstituted shiitake would be good, so that I can save the broth to make this soup?

1-3 oz dried shiitake mushrooms

4 oz bacon cut into lardons

1 kohlrabi (150gr) peeled, cubed, leaves finely chopped

6oz/170g onion (1 medium) finely chopped

2oz/60g carrot (1 medium) peeled, cubed

7oz/200g potato (1 medium) peeled, cubed

1 Tbsp oil 

1L (just over 4 cups) vegetable stock and mushroom liquor

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsps parsley, finely chopped 

2 Tbsps dill, finely chopped

TO SERVE - 1 Tbsp butter in each bowl

1. Soak the shiitake mushrooms in 500mL/2 cups of boiling water for 20-30 minutes. Reserve the liquid only! Save the mushrooms for something else.
2. In a soup pot, over medium-low heat render the lardons until browned and crisped. 
3. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes until softened.  Add the rest of the vegetables along with the parsley and cook for a few minutes stirring often, until they just start to soften.
4. Top up the shiitake liquor with water to get 500mL/2c cups. Add another 500mL/2 cups of vegetable stock, pepper to taste, stir, cover and bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.
5. Stir in the chopped dill and cook for 3 more minutes. 
6. Remove from the heat, adjust the seasoning if needed, stir in a tablespoon of butter in each bowl and serve (either as it is or with a dollop of yogurt/sour cream).