Polish Sour Rye Soup {Żurek}

Anna

9 years ago

77 / 100

Polish Sour Rye Soup {Żurek}

The star of my Easter table, sour rye soup. Żurek is creamy, smoky, garlicky and tiny bit sour in taste. In my home, it’s served as a starter, with slices of fresh sausage {biała kiełbasa}, garnished with a teaspoon of spicy horseradish {chrzan}. It takes some preparation, as the base of this flavorful favorite is mixed and set to ferment about a 5 days to a week ahead of time {recipe here}. The starter is a rye flour mixture and this recipe makes a very garlicky and fragrant variety.

A milder version can be found in almost any Polish grocery store here in the US, under the name of “Zakwas na Żur”, and it comes in 1 liter bottles. Prepare about 4 cups of stock for 1 liter of store-bought starter.

Poland is known for this fragrant soup, and I think it’s safe to say that it’s served at almost any Polish restaurant. Often served in a bread bowl it became my husband’s favorite as soon as he tried it. It’s hard to walk by a restaurant in Poland that serves it, and not stop in for a quick bite. Pieces of fresh sausage or smoked sausage, hardboiled egg make it extra appealing and fragrant. A side of horseradish will add slightly sharp and spicy edge. Highly recommended!

Polish Sour Rye Soup {Żurek}

Yields: 8-10 small servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 min

Ingredients

3 qts / 3 l of water
1 carrot
1 small parsley root
2 inch / 5 cm wedge of a celery root
6 oz / 200 g of smoked slab bacon (in one piece)
6 links of fresh Polish sausage (about 16 oz / 450 g)
1 tbs of salt (more to tase)
4 c / 1 l sour rye starter
3 tbsp of dried marjoram
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Sprinkle of ground black pepper

Instructions

Place all vegetables in a soup pot, add water, bacon, sausages, and salt. Bring to boil. Skim off all solids and simmer on low for 30 minutes.
With a slotted spoon, gently remove vegetables, ba- con, and sausages. Cut sausages into 1–2 inch / 3–5 centimeter pieces.
To the stock add 4 cups / 1 liter of rye starter (strained), sausage pieces, marjoram (rub in between your fingers to bloom), and crushed garlic. Sprinkle with ground pepper and boil on low for 5 minutes, stirring often.
Taste and add a bit more salt, if needed.
Soup is ready but it will do best if it combines for a few hours or overnight.
When ready to serve, place two egg halves in each bowl, along with a few pieces of sausage.
Pour in hot soup and add a bit of horseradish to taste.
Serve with bread.
GARNISH:
6 hard-boiled eggs
5 tsp of prepared horseradish

Notes

*Instead of preparing your own starter, you can purchase a store-bought version at many Polish delis. Look for “Zakwas na Żur”. You will need 2 (500 ml) bottles. Add more stock if too thick.

Best, if made a couple of days before serving.

If you haven’t made it yourself yet, I hope you give it a shot.

Smacznego!

Anna

ps. if ALL fails or if you’re just not a cooking type, you can get a pre-made / dried żurek here. Obviously it is not as good as home-made, but if you “Polish” it with the ingredients from this recipe (minus the starter and water) you can get away with this substitute.

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