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Kyselo
Sour rye soup
Kyselo: Krkonoše sour soup of rye starter, dried mushrooms and caraway with potatoes and soft egg
CzechHigh in the Krkonoše, the Giant Mountains on the Polish border, poor mountain families made a whole meal from a jar of rye sourdough starter, a handful of dried mushrooms and potatoes from the cellar. Kyselo still turns up in chalet restaurants around Špindlerův Mlýn and at local food festivals. It is pleasantly sour and creamy from the fermented rye, scented with caraway, and poured over boiled potatoes with softly scrambled egg spooned on top. The usual slip is boiling the soup hard after the starter goes in, which makes it catch on the bottom and turn lumpy; keep it at a lazy simmer and stir often. If you can, mix the starter with water the night before and leave it covered at room temperature, for a deeper sourness. Chef's tip: a mature, bubbly rye starter that smells like yoghurt gives the best flavour; a sleepy one makes a flat soup.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the soup
- 2 cups lukewarm waterfor the starter
- 4 ¼ cups water
- 1 ½ tsp caraway seeds
- 1 ½ tsp saltor to taste
- 1 ⅜ oz butter
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- ½ tsp black pepper
To serve
- 1 ½ lb waxy potatoespeeled and quartered
- 1 tsp saltfor the potato water
- 4 eggsbeaten
- 2 tbsp chives (optional)snipped
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What you'll need
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Whisk 7 oz active rye sourdough starter into 2 cups lukewarm water until smooth, cover and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes (or overnight), until it smells clearly sour and a few bubbles rise.
30 minStep 2: Put ⅔ oz dried forest mushrooms, 4 ¼ cups water, 1 ½ tsp caraway seeds and 1 ½ tsp salt in a pot, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 20 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and the broth is brown and fragrant.
20 minStep 3: While it simmers, boil 1 ½ lb waxy potatoes in salted water with 1 tsp salt for 15–20 minutes, until a knife slides in easily. Drain and keep warm.
20 minStep 4: Pour the starter liquid through a sieve into the mushroom broth, whisking all the time. Simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring often, until the soup is creamy and coats the back of a spoon.
10 minStep 5: Meanwhile, melt half the ⅔ oz butter in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry 1 onion for 8 minutes, until deep golden. Scrape it into the soup and season with ½ tsp black pepper.
8 minStep 7: Put potatoes in each bowl, ladle the hot soup over and top with the scrambled egg and 2 tbsp chives.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 13 g
- Carbs
- 45 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kyselo take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of dried forest mushrooms?
- Aubergine, diced, same weight.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
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