← Nouns Cooking · Soup Pot

Ingredients

• 400 g white kiełbasa (or smoked kiełbasa)
• 1.75 l chicken or mixed meat stock
• 150 g smoked bacon, diced
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 2 Carrot, diced
• 1 parsley root or parsnip, diced
• 100 g Celeriac (celery root), diced
• 400 g Potato, peeled and diced
• 3 Bay leaves
• 4 allspice berries
• 500 ml Żurek sour rye starter (zakwas)
• 2 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp Dried marjoram
• 2 tsp Prepared horseradish (optional)
• 100 ml Sour cream (optional)
• 4 Eggs, hard-boiled and halved
• Salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Put the sausage in the stock, bring it to a gentle simmer and poach for 15 min, until cooked through (71°C/160°F in the centre). Lift the sausage out, keep the stock in the pot and slice the sausage once it has cooled a little.
2. Meanwhile fry the bacon in a frying pan over medium heat for 5 min, then add the onion and cook for 5 min more, until golden.
3. Tip the bacon and onion into the stock with the carrot, parsley root, celeriac, potatoes, bay leaves and allspice. Simmer for 20 min, until the potatoes are tender.
4. Shake the jar of starter well (the flour settles at the bottom), then pour it in, stirring. Simmer gently for 5 min; the soup will turn milky and thicken slightly.
5. Stir in the garlic, marjoram and horseradish, if using, and season. For a creamier soup, whisk the sour cream with a ladle of hot soup, then stir it back in off the boil.
6. Return the sliced sausage to warm through. Serve each bowl with two egg halves, and rye bread on the side.

Tips

• Żurek starter (zakwas) is sold in jars or bottles in Polish shops; it is wheat and rye flour fermented with water, so this soup is not gluten-free.
• Starters vary in sourness: add three-quarters, taste, then add the rest if you want more tang.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Polonist The Daring Gourmet Great British Chefs