Sour sponges

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 kg mushrooms, fresh
• 500 g potatoes
• 1 large onion(s)
• 150 g bacon or ham, diced
• 100 g gherkins
• 1 liter meat broth or vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 1 bunch of parsley
• ½ tsp thyme, dried
• 2 tsp caraway powder
• Salt
• pepper
• Fat, for frying

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

Mushroom stew from the Ore Mountains

Clean, finely chop, and wash the mushrooms carefully. Heat the frying fat in a suitable pot. Add the bacon cubes, finely chopped onions, and gherkins, and sauté briefly. Add the mushrooms, mix well, and stir several times until they are simmering in their own juices. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, thyme, and caraway seeds. Sprinkle with the flour, add the broth, stir well, and bring to a boil. Then simmer for 30 minutes and add the finely chopped potatoes. Bring back to a boil and simmer gently for another 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Season to taste with sugar and vinegar, sweet and sour (more sour, “sour” mushrooms!), and season with salt and pepper if desired. Add the finely chopped parsley. This former “poor people’s” dish from the Ore Mountains, still very popular there today.