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Żurek
Żurek: Polish sour rye soup with white sausage, smoked bacon and egg
Żurek is the soup of Polish Easter, served in homes from Kraków to Gdańsk on Easter Sunday morning, and in highland Zakopane restaurants it comes in a hollowed-out bread loaf all year. Its tang comes from zakwas, a fermented rye-flour starter, simmered with marjoram, garlic and stock. This version contains pork: white sausage (biała kiełbasa) and smoked bacon, plus halved hard-boiled eggs. Chef's tip: shake the jar of zakwas before you pour it in; the flour settles and the soup will be thin without it.
- Total time
- 65 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the soup
To serve
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put 14 oz Polish white sausage (biała kiełbasa), raw in a pot with 6 ¼ cups water, 2 bay leaves and 4 allspice berries, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes until the sausage is cooked through (160°F). Lift it out and slice it; keep the broth.
25 minStep 2: In a frying pan fry 5 ½ oz smoked streaky bacon over a medium heat for 5 minutes, add 1 onion and 1 carrot and cook for 6 minutes until soft. Tip into the broth.
11 minStep 3: Add 14 oz potatoes and simmer for 15 minutes until tender.
15 minStep 4: Shake the jar and pour in 2 cups zakwas (sour rye starter), shop-bought or home-made, stirring. Add 4 cloves garlic and 2 tsp dried marjoram and simmer for 5 minutes until slightly thickened. A common mistake is boiling it hard after adding the starter; a gentle simmer keeps it smooth.
6 minStep 5: Whisk ½ cup soured cream with a ladle of the hot soup, then stir it back in with 1 tbsp grated horseradish and the sliced sausage. Heat through without boiling. Season with 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper and remove the bay leaves.
4 minStep 6: Ladle into bowls and add 6 eggs and 1 tbsp fresh dill. Serve with rye bread.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 25 g
- Carbs
- 26 g
- Fat
- 29 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does żurek take?
- About 65 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of carrot?
- Parsnip or sweet potato, same weight.
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