Żurek

I consider the sour rye starter test for żurek a success, because I ended up with a really good żurek (Polish sour rye soup). It was completely different from the one I remember. My mom always made hers with starter bought in a bottle, and somehow I still remember that taste. Easter żurek made with your own starter is more aromatic, maybe a bit more floury, heartier and slightly sour. We loved it! Since I made this żurek before Easter, for a family dinner, I made it in a meatless "deluxe" version with vegetables. For the holiday version, you can skip serving the vegetables and serve the żurek with just egg or white sausage (biała kiełbasa), which I would use to make a meat-based żurek.

żurek

Directions – żurek:

Soak the mushrooms in warm water for ten or so minutes beforehand and rinse off any dirt. Hard-boil the eggs.

Wash, peel and finely dice the vegetables: carrot, celery root, parsley root and potatoes. Cut the onion in half, and the garlic as well. Heat up the soup pot and melt 4 tbsp butter or canola oil in it, then add all the vegetables (including the onion and garlic) and sauté for a few minutes, until they start to give off a wonderful aroma and turn a little translucent. Pour in about 1.2 liters of water, add the bay leaf, allspice, pepper and mushrooms, season with salt and cook until the vegetables are soft.

Strain the żurek starter through a sieve and add it to the soup. Bring to a boil, then add the marjoram and season with more salt and pepper if needed. I had to add quite a lot of salt before it tasted right. You can also soften the flavor with cream. The żurek should be thick and pleasantly sour. If you like it more sour, add more starter.

Ladle the żurek into bowls, top each with egg halves (or white sausage) and serve.

Enjoy!