Żurek recipe

A Polish soup soured with zakwas, rye flour and water left to ferment for days, and finished with raw white sausage, cream and horseradish.

5 days and 2 hourshard12 ingredients

Ingredients

• 100 g rye flour
• 400 g white sausage
• 200 g smoked bacon
• 300 g potatoes
• 2 clove garlic
• 1 tbsp marjoram
• 2 bay leaves
• 100 ml sour cream
• 1 tbsp horseradish
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 2000 ml water

How to make Żurek

1. Five days ahead, whisk 100 g rye flour with 2000 ml lukewarm boiled water and 2 crushed garlic cloves in a jar, cover it with a cloth and leave it at room temperature, stirring daily; this zakwas is the whole soup and there is no shortcut, a shop bought bread starter will not give the same sharpness.
2. The zakwas is ready when it smells sharply sour and a thin liquid has separated on top; strain it before use.
3. Simmer 200 g smoked bacon in 1.5 litres of water for 40 minutes to build the stock.
4. Add 300 g diced potatoes and cook 15 minutes until tender.
5. Add 400 g raw white sausage, unsmoked biala kielbasa, poach it 20 minutes, then lift it out and slice it.
6. Stir the strained zakwas into the pot off the boil and heat gently without letting it boil, or it will split.
7. Season with 1 tbsp dried marjoram rubbed between your palms, 2 bay leaves, 1 tbsp grated horseradish and salt.
8. Temper 100 ml sour cream with a ladle of hot soup, stir it in, and serve with the sliced sausage and half a hard-boiled egg per bowl.

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