It’s a dish that stayed with me long after my return from Poland, so much so that I had to make it. A soup with an unusual taste: sour, hot and with a touch of horseradish.
Preparation:
Cook:
Level: Intermediate
Serves: 1
Ingredients
- FOR THE ZAKWAS:
- 5 tablespoons rye flour
- 700 milliliters Lukewarm water
- 5 whole allspice berries
- 2 cloves Garlic
- FOR THE SOUP:
- 1 whole Parsnip
- 1 whole Carrot
- 1-½ whole Large onion, divided
- 1-½ liter Water
- 5 whole allspice berries
- 5 whole peppers
- 2 whole bay leaves
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 250 grams White Sausages (Polish White Kielbasa Or White Bratwurst)
- 4 slices Bacon
- 1 teaspoon Marjoram
- 2 tablespoons Horseradish
- 1 whole Egg, boiled and quartered
Preparation
For the zakwas (plan 5 days in advance):
Combine the rye flour, lukewarm water, allspice berries and garlic cloves in a jar and mix well. Cover with a kitchen towel, paper towel or paper towel held in place with a rubber band. Leave in a warm place, like a windowsill. Stir the mixture daily.
After 5 days, your Zakwas is ready. I actually left mine for 6 days to boost the flavor.
For the soup:
First prepare the vegetable broth. Peel and chop the parsnip and carrot and peel and quarter 1 onion. Place in a large saucepan with the water, allspice berries, peppercorns, bay leaves and garlic cloves and bring to a boil. Salt the liquid well and boil lightly for about 1 hour. The liquid reduce by half.
Strain broth into another large saucepan. Press down on the vegetables as you do this to extract all the flavor. Place the saucepan over low heat.
Towards the end of the broth cooking, slice the sausages. Mince the remaining onion and slice the bacon. Add the diced onion to a skillet over medium heat. After a few minutes, add the sausage meat and bacon and sauté another 8-10 minutes, making sure nothing burns.
Remove sausage, onion and bacon from skillet. If the mixture is particularly fatty (sausage juice), place it on a plate on a kitchen towel for a few minutes.
Add the sausage, bacon and onion to the drained broth. Add marjoram and horseradish. Add 1 cup (250 ml) of the zakwa mixture. Stir well and simmer the mixture for 5 minutes.
Serve in bowls with 2 egg wedges on top. If you wish, you can also serve with bread and a dollop of sour cream on top.
