Zurek (fermented rye soup) - traditional Polish Easter soup

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #eastertraditions

Over the last two years I had been making zurek, a traditional Polish Easter soup. It has been one of my favourite soups when I was growing up and I have to admit I missed it tremendously.  For the longest time I though this soup requires a lot of work so I stayed away from it, but in fact it is super simple. 

The base of the soup is a rye starter, which is rye flour, water, whole garlic cloves, whole allspice and a bay leaf that are fermented over 3-5 days. The starter stays in the room temperature, covered with a cloth. There is absolutely nothing that you have to do with it during the fermentation process. 
To make the starter, mix flour with water, then add garlic and spices. Flour to water ratio is about 1:5; the consistency of the starter should be similar to a crepe dough.

Ingredients:

1.5 litres of stock ( you can use a mix of stock and water, I often do that)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp fried shallots (optional, I find they add a lot of flavour)

4 slices of prosciutto (you can use bacon, pork fat, or any other fatty meat you want)

3 garlic cloves

2 white sausages (they should be plain if possible so they do not overpower the soup)

1-2c rye starter, it depends how sour it got during the fermentation process.

2 tbsp dried majoram

3 tsp horseradish 

5 tbsp cream (35%)

1. Fry on a medium low heat shallots, onion, and finely chopped prosciutto for about 5-7 minutes. You can add a little butter if the meat you are using foes not contain enough fat.

2. Heat the stock and water and add fried onions, whole (or chopped) white sausage, and pressed garlic cloves.

3. Cook it for about 30-40 minutes on a medium low heat (gas mark 2.8).

4. Add rye starter by adding about half and then adjusting as required. It should be a little sour but not too sour in taste.

5. Add majoram and horseradish. Mix well and taste if it has the right balance.

6. Finally add cream, start by mixing part of the soup with the cream to warm it up. 

7. Serve with cut into pieces hard boiled egg(s).

8. Enjoy!