Jägersuppe - Hunter's Soup

A traditional German dish, jägersuppe translates to hunter’s soup in English. This version features wild mushrooms, bacon, red wine and sour cream. 

A while back I was looking for soup recipes and came across the name jägersuppe. I am not familiar with German cuisine so, intrigued, I followed the links and went down a rabbit hole of recipes with all manner of wild game and foraged ingredients.

The recipe I finally settled on called for chanterelle mushrooms which my high-end local grocery store, Central Market, often carries. Much to my disappointment, they didn’t have any! So I picked up some baby bella mushrooms there instead and decided to hydrate some wild mushrooms to keep to the spirit of the recipe name. 

It turns out that chanterelle season here in the US is July through November so I’ll definitely be making this again later in the year. Even without the special mushrooms though, it was delicious, rich and satisfyingly savory. 

Jägersuppe – Hunter’s Soup

Use whatever nice fresh mushrooms you can find if chestnut ones aren’t available. If you have chanterelles, all the better! This recipe is adapted from one on Gute Kueche, Germany’s Good Food magazine. It makes four servings. 

Ingredients

1 oz or 28g dried wild mushrooms

8 oz or 227g fresh baby bella mushrooms

½ large or 1 small onion (Mine weighed 112g)

2 tablespoons butter

3 ½ oz or 100g bacon crumbles

2 tablespoons flour

4 ¼ cups or 1L beef stock

½ cup or 120ml dry red wine

½ cup or 120ml sour cream

¼ teaspoon white pepper

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or to taste – depending on the saltiness of your stock

Optional for garnish - chopped flat leaf parsley

Method

Pour boiling water over the dried mushrooms in a heatproof bowl and set aside to soak. 

Clean the fresh mushrooms, trim any hard bits and slice them. 

Mince the onion.

Sauté the sliced mushrooms in the butter.

Keep cooking until they have released their liquid and turned a lovely golden brown. Remove them from the pan and set aside. 

Drain the dried mushrooms, reserving the liquid and straining out any dirt. Chop them finely with a sharp knife.

Fry the bacon crumbles in the same pan you used for the mushrooms.

Add in the minced onion and cook until the onion is softened and translucent. 

Dust the bacon and onion with the flour. (I like to use a little sieve which helps avoid lumps.) Stir well and cook the flour for a minute or two. 

Pour in the stock and red wine and bring to a low boil.

Stir in the fresh and dried mushrooms along with the soaking liquid. Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add the sour cream, season with salt, if needed, and white pepper and bring to a boil again briefly.

Stir well to combine.

Garnish with some chopped parsley to serve. Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 10th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2026, brought to you by the letter J. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the J recipes below:

• Aloo Tamatar Jhol - No Onion No Garlic from Sneha’s Recipe
• Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers from Blogghetti
• Coconut Cherry Jasmine Rice from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Cowboy Candy from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Jackfruit Seed Stirfry from Mildly Indian
• Jägersuppe - Hunter's Soup from Food Lust People Love
• Juniper Butter Cookies from A Messy Kitchen
• Jicama Slaw with Carrots, Cucumbers, and Bell Peppers from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Vegetable Jalfrezi from Mayuri’s Jikoni

Here are my posts for the 2026 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Ají de Cerdo aka Peruvian Pork Stew

B: Baby Cos Peach Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing 

C. Traditional Cullen Skink 

D. Coconut Cream Date Caramel 

E. Edamame Summer Salad 

F. Lamb Feta Mint Patties 

G. Ricotta Gnocchi à la Poêle 

H. Hazelnut Vodka 

I. Italian Sausage Stuffed Mini Peppers - this post!

J. Jägersuppe - Hunter's Soup - this post!

To check out the Alphabet Challenges for 2024 and 2025, click here.

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Sprouted Spelt Sourdough Boule #BreadBakers

Crunchy on the outside but tender on the inside, this sprouted spelt sourdough boule is a toothsome loaf full of flavor from both the spelt and sourdough starter.

A fortuitous measuring mistake led to the baking of this lovely loaf! I was in the kitchen making sprouted spelt everything crackers and right off the bat, I added FULLY DOUBLE the amount of water to the spelt flour than I was supposed. Why? I cannot tell you except that I was a bit distracted, never a good thing when baking. 

So I set that bowl aside and started afresh on the cracker recipe which turned out very tasty, by the way.

I do hate to waste ingredients though so when the enormous cracker was in the oven, I decided to adapt my sprouted spelt boule recipe to make a sourdough loaf. I gotta tell you, it was an excellent decision. We loved this bread! 

Since the flour and water had already had about 35 minutes mixed together, I went with the flow and said to myself, okay, we are starting with an autolyze. An autolyze is when you hydrate the flour ahead of adding the rising agent which allows gluten to begin forming, and creates a smoother, more extensible dough, often reducing the need for extensive kneading.

Then I added in the sourdough starter and left the mixture an additional half hour or so (a step sometimes called fermentolyse, differing from autolyze by the addition of the rising agent, either sourdough starter or yeast) before continuing to mix in the rest of the ingredients. Worry not, full instructions follow below.

Good save, right? Waste not, want not.

Sprouted Spelt Sourdough Boule

If you can’t find sprouted spelt flour, Google offered the following suggestion: “The best substitute for sprouted spelt flour is sprouted whole wheat flour, as it offers a similar nutritional profile, nutty flavor, and baking consistency.” If you can find it, I have at least six other recipes here to use it, from sourdough blini to sweet muffins to artisan yeast bread.

 

Ingredients

1 cup or 240ml warm water

1 1/2 cups or 180g sprouted spelt flour

1 cup or 250g sourdough starter

1 1/2 cups or 188g bread flour

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Before baking:

Sprinkle of rice flour - optional

 

Essential equipment:

5.5 qt or 5.3L Dutch oven with ovenproof lid or a bread cloche

Lame, razor or very sharp knife for scoring

 

Method

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the water and spelt flour. Mix well. Cover with cling film or a shower cap and set aside for about 45 minutes. 

Add in the sourdough starter and mix again to combine. Cover with cling film or a shower cap and set aside for another 45 minutes. 

Add in the bread flour and salt. Mix well. 

Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl, making sure all the flour has been incorporated.

Knead until the dough is springy and formed a good ball. I use my stand mixer for this because I am a wimp. 

Cover the bowl with cling film or a damp teacloth. Let sit at room temperature for 8-12 hours. 

The longer the better, in my opinion. You can also pop the covered bowl in the refrigerator overnight, after the rise at room temperature.

If you have refrigerated your dough, remove it from the refrigerator and leave to come to room temperature before continuing. 

Once the dough is room temperature and ready to bake, prepare a greased square of baking parchment on a plate. Make the dough into a tight ball and transfer it to the parchment. The parchment isn’t strictly necessary but it will make transferring the risen dough to the Dutch oven easier later.

Cover with a loose towel or oiled cling film and let rise for 1 hour. 

 

When your dough has almost doubled in size, preheat oven to 450°F or 232°C WITH THE COVERED DUTCH OVEN or BREAD CLOCHE INSIDE. 

I have a new toy which is a LeCreuset bread cloche. I had only used it before this from a cold start so I was crossing my fingers it would work for this as well! (Reader, as you can see, it did!) 

 

Once the Dutch oven or cloche is fully heated and the dough is done rising, hold the edges of the parchment paper and carefully place the loaf inside. 

Cut a few slashes in the dough to allow it to rise further as it bakes and to give it a decorative finish. I like to sprinkle the top with rice flour first to give it definition but that’s not necessary. It just looks prettier once baked.

Depending on your oven, let the bread bake with the lid ON for about 20-25 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. If you are a thermometer-using baker, fully baked, the boule should have an internal temperature of about 190°F or 88°C.

Remove the boule from the oven.

Let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. Waiting is the most challenging part of the recipe! It smells sooooooo good. 

Slice to serve. This boule is great as is OR toasted. A smear of butter never goes amiss.

Enjoy!

It’s the second Tuesday of the month so that means it’s time for my fellow Bread Bakers and I to share our bakes. Our theme is sourdough. Many thanks to our host, Sneha of Sneha’s Recipe. Check out the links below. 

• Overnight Sourdough Sandwich Bread from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Small Sourdough Bread from Sneha’s Recipe
• Sourdough Oat Waffles from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sprouted Spelt Sourdough Boule from Food Lust People Love
• Sweet Potato Sourdough from A Messy Kitchen

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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Thai Chicken Summer Rolls

These Thai chicken summer rolls are filled with peanut saucy noodles, Thai basil, carrot, cucumber, cilantro and, of course, chicken. With more peanut sauce on the side. 

Our host for today’s Sunday FunDay event asked us to make summer rolls so that’s what I’ve named these guys but, honestly, at our house, we usually call these spring rolls. But I guess that gets confusing with fried spring rolls aka eggrolls also being called the same thing. 

One of the very first recipes I ever shared back in my first year of blogging was a version of this made with shrimp and a Thai sweet and sour chili sauce. So good! They hit the spot when I was feeling very homesick for Kuala Lumpur after a move to Cairo.

If you cannot be bothered to make rolls, my shrimp spring roll bowls are the ticket. So easy. 

Thai Chicken Summer Rolls

For the peanut sauce, I like to use a mix of crunchy and smooth because it looks more like the satay sauce you find in Southeast Asia. If you only have one or the other, use what you have! Still gonna taste delicious. If you cannot find Thai basil, you can substitute regular basil but it won’t have the same almost licoricey/aniseed flavor. Or you can just add more cilantro or use mint leaves which are another herb typical in Thai cooking.

Ingredients

For summer rolls:

2 ½ oz or 71g bean thread noodles (2 nests or bundles)

5 1/3 oz or 150g cooked chicken


1 large carrot

1/2 seedless cucumber 

1 tablespoon fish sauce


1 tablespoon dark brown sugar


2 tablespoons rice vinegar


8 large rice paper wrappers aka spring roll skins

Small bunch cilantro


Small bunch Thai basil

Optional: 1 large jalapeño pepper

For the peanut sauce:

1 cup or 240ml peanut butter

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce


2 tablespoons rice vinegar


3 cloves garlic, grated


2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger

Optional: minced red chili pepper

½ cup or 240ml boiling water

Method

First, make the peanut sauce so the ingredients have time to meld together. Whisk the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, chili pepper, if using, and boiling water until smooth. 

Set aside.

Place the bean thread noodles in medium heatproof bowl, cover with almost boiling water; let stand about 5 minutes or until just tender, drain and rinse with cool water. Set aside to drain. 

Using kitchen scissors, cut the noodles into random lengths.

Julienne the carrot and cucumber. My cucumber said it was seedless but I still had to scrape the seeds out! I find a grapefruit spoon is the best tool for this.

Pinch off the tough stems from the cilantro and discard.

Pinch the leaves off of the Thai basil. Discard the stems. 

If using, cut the jalapeño in half and scrape the inside clean of seeds and membrane. Slice into thin slices. 




Slice the chicken into pieces. 

In a medium bowl, mix together the fish sauce, sugar and vinegar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add in the noodles and toss to coat. 

Add about ¼ of the peanut sauce.

Toss again. 

To assemble the rolls, place one rice paper wrapper in plate of warm water until just softened. 

Lift the wrapper carefully, letting the excess water drip off. I used my clean quartz countertop as the filling/rolling surface but you can use a clean flat plate, if you’d like. 

Place some of the filling horizontally in the center of the sheet closer to you starting with some Thai basil leaves and tender sprigs of cilantro. Top with some cucumber and carrot slices and a slice or two of jalapeño, if using. 

Top with 1/8 of the chicken. 

Finally, 1/8 of the noodles

Fold edge closest to you up and over the filling. Fold in the sides. 

Roll the sheet to enclose filling. The end will stick nicely as it rolls, securing your roll. 

Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

Place the filled rolls on a large plate where they won’t touch UNLESS you are serving them immediately, otherwise, they like to stick to each other. Again, if not serving immediately, cover with cling film or a damp cloth and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve with warmed peanut sauce on the side. 

Enjoy!

 

It's Sunday FunDay and today, as mentioned above, we sharing recipes for summer rolls made with rice paper wrappers. Many thanks to our host, Renu of Cook with Renu. 

• Easy Fruit Summer Rolls with Feta and Mango Chili Sauce from Cook with Renu
• Low Carb Cheesy Rice Paper Chicken Wraps from Sneha's Recipe
• Thai Chicken Summer Rolls from Food Lust People Love
• Shrimp Rice Paper Rolls from Making Miracles
• Shrimp and Veggie Summer Rolls from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Vegan Summer Rolls from Mayuri's Jikoni

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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