Żurek was the first Polish food I sampled in Poznan, as you can see from this post back in October 2009, recounting our visit to Restauracja Ratuszova, a fantastic place for traditional dishes in the Stary Rynek.

Before I describe it, let me say that Żurek is delicious and a hearty soup, but it will sound most unusual to Americans. I can’t think of a comparable soup made in the states.

The Żurek broth is made with soured rye flour. Think sour dough starter, but thinner in consistency.

If you live in Poland, you can pick up a bottle of zakwas (the sour liquid) at any market, but when you live in Arizona, you have to make your own, and that’s what I did. It’s not difficult it just takes a little advance planning. You’ll need to start this 5 days in advance.

Żurek is a traditional Easter breakfast dish in Poland. The soup will include a spicy white sausage, to celebrate and mark the end of Lenten fasting.

I’ve been told that Żurek served during Lent will be served without all of the meat, but ordering it in restaurants, I never noticed a difference based on the liturgical calendar.

What you can bet on is that there are limitless variations of this soup, by region, by family.

Earlier this year, someone on Facebook rigorously critiqued one of my soup recipes because I had used celery and that wasn’t traditional. The thing is, I could easily point to at least half a dozen food blogs written in Polish that include celery or celery root in this soup.

Maybe her mother or grandmother just didn’t like celery. A new tradition is born. I knew what I was writing was legit, but it felt like she was calling me a fraud. Blogging, it’s not for the faint of heart. 😉

A reader similarly took Anne Applebaum and Danielle Crittenden to task when a newspaper published their Żurek soup recipe which they also referred to as Biały (White) Barszcz.

The reader said the two soups were not the same, and that Anne Applebaum should know better. You can find their cookbook here (via my Amazon affiliate link).

Olga Smile a popular Polish food blogger says that in her family, it was considered White Barszcz if they added cream, white sausage, marjoram.

Without these, the plainer version, they considered Żurek, but even Olga says the distinction is fluid. I don’t know enough to weigh in on this argument, but I have recently heard that White Barszcz is made from soured wheat rather than soured rye. Does that ring true?

I’ll leave you with this recipe and say add or subtract to your heart’s content, which to my mind is normal when making soup.

Smacznego!

Lois

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clock clock icon cutlery cutlery icon flag flag icon folder folder icon instagram instagram icon pinterest pinterest icon print print icon squares squares icon Żurek (a Polish Rye Soup) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 4.8 from 6 reviews Author: Polish Housewife

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 90 mins

Total Time: 2 hours

Yield: 6 - 8 servings 1 x

Category: Soup

Cuisine: Polish Print Pin Description A hearty soup with a sour broth often served in elaborate rye bread bowls Scale 1x 2x 3x Ingredients for zakwas (the sour liquid): 5 tablespoons rye flour

rye flour Crust from a slice of rye bread (optional)

3 cups water

water 4 cloves garlic, crushed

cloves garlic, crushed 3 bay leaves

bay leaves 5 allspice berries for the soup: 4 slices bacon, diced

slices bacon, diced 1 pound Polish sausage or brautwurst, sliced

pound Polish sausage or brautwurst, sliced 2 large onions, coarsely chopped

large onions, coarsely chopped 1 large carrot, sliced

large carrot, sliced 1 large parsnip, sliced

large parsnip, sliced 1/2 celery root, peeled and diced

celery root, peeled and diced 6 – 8 cups water

– cups water 1 bay leaf

bay leaf 2 cloves crushed garlic

cloves crushed garlic 4 large potatoes, peeled and diced

large potatoes, peeled and diced 1/2 teaspoon marjoram

marjoram salt & pepper, to taste

2 tablespoon horseradish (fresh grated or jarred)

horseradish (fresh grated or jarred) 2 tablesppons cream

tablesppons cream hard boiled eggs Instructions for the zakwas (the sour liquid) Add the flour and crust (if you’re using it) to a large jar Add the water, garlic, bay leaves, and allspice Mix thoroughly, as it sits, it will seperate with the flour sinking to the bottom Cover the jar with a paper towel or kitchen towel (I like to secure it with a large rubber band) Let sit for five days, giving it a swirl daily to mix for the soup: Brown the bacon and sasage in a Dutch oven Add the onion, carrot, parsnip and celery root Add water and bay leaf and garlic, simmer for 40 minutes Add the potatoes and marjoram, cook until the potatoes are tender Add 2 cups of the zakwas (strained or flour mixed in, your choice) if you want the soup more sour, add the remaining zakwas Season with salt and pepper Add horseradish and cream Return to a boil and remove from heat Serve by garnishing with hard boiled egg, halved, quarted, or diced Notes Some cooks will make a broth with the soup veg and discard the vegetables before proeeding. I prefer to eat them. Fiber is good for you. Some cooks will cook the potatoes seperately before adding to the soup. I wanted them to cook in the soup, the starch adding thickness to the broth.